Digital activities generate 2.5 million terabytes of data every day, hence the ubiquity of the term ‘big data’. In fact, it’s safe to say that data is now the driving force behind the global economy.
From a marketer’s perspective, data is the most valuable asset of all. However, if data isn’t leading to technological transformation in your organization, it’s time to implement a data analytics and business intelligence (BI) roadmap that will set your business up for future success.
Here are 5 reasons why companies fail to experience digital transformation:
You Don’t Know Where to Look for Data
Whether it involves signing up to an email newsletter, sharing the latest meme on social media or even ordering a meal at a retail kiosk in McDonalds, every digital process generates data. Factor in the ubiquity of technology, which now includes a plethora of mobile and IoT devices, and you find yourself facing a dizzying array of potential data sources. The challenge lies in identifying the sources that matter most.
It might be an over-hyped term, but big data is where a modern business intelligence strategy starts. That’s why you need a way to gather data from a disparate range of sources so that your BI solution can determine what’s important and deliver more valuable insights. Your BI process should be able to draw data from every system you use, including CRM, ERP, relational databases, website analytics and more.
You’re Not Translating Data into Insights
It’s all very well to talk about the role of big data in BI but, by itself, raw data is of little use. After all, data sets are now so large that they’re impossible to make sense of. Furthermore, it’s easy to get seduced by vanity metrics, such as social media shares and likes. Such statistics might give you some bragging rights, but they’re not likely to translate into actionable insights.
The real value of data lies not in all the ones and zeros, but in how they drive decision-making. Rather than using data to support business decision-making, more innovative companies are now shifting their focus towards insights. With the right system at your disposal, you’ll have access to insights in real time, which you can use to automate decision-making processes to answer questions like the following:
- Which products and services are most popular?
- Which paid advertising campaigns or platforms have the highest ROI?
- What’s causing people to abandon their shopping carts?
- How do people feel about your brand?
- Which marketing channels are driving the most conversions?
You’re Using Too Many Analytics Solutions
It’s easy to get lost when it comes to big data. Today, marketing teams use a wide range of tools and platforms, such as email marketing, social media and CRM. Each of these solutions usually feature an analytics dashboard of their own. For example, you can use Google Analytics to track website performance, Facebook Analytics to determine the performance of your Facebook strategy and the reports feature built into your CRM to keep tabs on customer relations.
It shouldn’t be difficult to see why working with such a disparate array of different reporting and analytics programs is a frustrating and, frankly, pointless, endeavor. To streamline your BI operations, you’ll need a solution which can intelligently collect data from multiple sources and present through a centralized dashboard.
Your Technology Is Misaligned with Business Goals
Depending on how you approach it, enterprise technology can either be your friend or your worst enemy. For every opportunity, there are disruptive technologies which will have your employees wasting time trying to learn how to use new systems that don’t seem to serve any purpose. Other so-called solutions and strategies might lead to wasting valuable hours trying to resolve trivial IT problems that didn’t exist before.
These sorts of problems typically arise because of a communications failure, which leads to a misalignment between technology and your business goals. In the case of data analytics and BI, this might involve looking at the wrong data or being unable to match your data-driven insights to your operational goals. To prevent a misalignment and to ensure you get the best possible return on your investment, you’ll need to work with vendors who understand your specific needs and can adapt as required.
You’re Not Thinking about Every Stage of the Customer Journey
When it comes to data analytics, many CIOs focus on sales and lead-generation. While these stages of the customer journey are no doubt of utmost importance, you cannot afford to neglect other stages, including awareness, consideration and brand advocacy. Mapping out the entire customer journey, however, is only the first step. Each step also generates data, which you can use to improve customer experiences from the moment they first hear about your brand to the moment they become brand advocates. Using a platform like the Sitecore Experience Database, for example, you can collect data about all customer interactions and identify areas of improvement in real time.
A successful business is one that knows how to use data to its fullest potential. With our data-aggregation solutions, you’ll always have the most comprehensive insights available at your fingertips. Call us today to find out more.
