The days of decisions based on gut instinct are long gone. Instead, we have entered the age of data and analytics. Organisations across all sectors can now access vast amounts of data, which, combined with powerful analytics tools, allow them to gain insights to improve business operations and seize new market opportunities. However, many organisations still have a way to go before they can say their firm has a data-driven culture.
Interestingly, one of the biggest obstacles to creating a data-driven organisation is cultural rather than technical. For companies to stand out from competitors, data-driven decisions must be the norm rather than the exception. In this article, we outline the steps firms can take to create a data-driven culture.
Change Starts At The Top
Big changes require strong, forward-thinking leaders. Companies that have successfully created data-driven cultures do so by employing managers that drive home the importance of using data appropriately to make decisions. Most importantly, they do this leading by example. They back up their decisions with relevant and appropriately analysed data and make the findings available to those around them.
Prove That Data is For Everybody
There is a common misconception that data is only for those who are tech-focused. This isn’t the case, but how do you communicate that to your team? The weather is a helpful analogy to explain the importance of using data in all areas of your organisation. We will make decisions about our day based on the weather forecast, for example, whether we take an umbrella with us when we leave the house. However, to do this, we do not attempt to understand the intricacies of meteorology. A similar concept applies to using data in the workplace. Instead of asking every employee to understand all things technical, we use accessible data insights to make decisions. All employees have the potential to think like technologists, regardless of their roles.
Improve Data Transparency
Keeping data organised is a challenge that all companies face. For example, new solutions are sometimes implemented without proper training or considering compatibility with existing software, causing confusion, annoyance and, ultimately, less employee buy-in. Unfortunately, a disorganised data strategy which lacks employee buy-in is doomed to fail.
Articulating the relationship between data and business operations is crucial. By showing them how collecting and analysing data feeds into your organisation’s core mission, you allow them to be a part of something bigger and more meaningful than simply learning how to use new platforms.
Quality, Not Quantity
Amassing huge amounts of data won’t create a data-driven culture—it’s the analytics and ability to separate signal from noise that matters. The goal is to make better decisions, and organisations can only do that if they properly analyse data. Investing in analytics tools that are appropriate to the data being generated, including HubSpot, Zoho Analytics, Adverity and RapidMiner, will allow your organisation to draw concrete conclusions.
Sometimes the data does not even need to be first-party. Private Equity firms looking for a self-service, data-led commercial assessment of a target asset can leverage threesixty, onefourzero’s one-stop monitoring tool. The platform provides investors and portfolio companies with an aggregate view of any sector, brand, product or service. Additionally, the data is presented alongside key competitors in an easy-to-digest format, making the takeaways clear to stakeholders at all levels.
Within the threesixty platform, customers have access to a wealth of vital data, revealing market size, share and growth, marketing efficiencies and positioning, engagement and user experience, commercial performance and benchmarking, customer cohorts and sentiment, and sales, pricing and conversion data.
Work With Experienced Third Parties
Deciding to use the right data in the right situation is a positive step, but change doesn’t happen overnight. Organisations that need to make decisions quickly but don’t have access to vital insights they require would benefit from hiring a third party to assist them in their efforts. In addition, many organisations do not have the time or resources to access certain data in-house.
For example, at onefourzero, we help companies from a diverse range of industries make data-driven decisions. We offer services that allow organisations in all sectors to make informed decisions. One of our core services is diligence—we deliver data-driven M&A reports for investors and brands, enabling them to make decisions to drive commercial growth, marketing investment, operational effectiveness, digital strategy and international expansion.
To learn more about how onefourzero can help your organisation make better decisions with data, please don’t hesitate to contact us so we can discuss your requirements in more depth.
