It’s true that the amount of data now being generated within our increasingly digital society is vast, every action and reaction is catalogued and stored. Why do we then find that, ironically, businesses still fall back on traditional measurements and struggle to infuse digital data up to the very top of companies? Do you yourself believe that the responsiveness of the business is occasionally hampered by the lack of real time data usage and reaction? Of course digital data brings opportunity, but also raises challenges in taking this information and making effective and informed decisions. Appreciating and using the right data is key to your success within (digital) marketing.
A simple principle for using this data should be to make decisions based on what it shows. This is most straightforward in the implementational digital channels where the people looking at the data know what it represents and understand the detail within it. Where this becomes problematic is at a board and senior level where all too often the data is too detailed or not clearly presented and understood in terms of direction or message.