Using Insight to Influence Action
A few weeks ago, my colleague Alison Momot and I had the chance to attend OMMA’s first ever Metrics & Measurement Conference at The Yale Club of New York. Despite the torrential downpour we had to wade through to get there, we were beyond thrilled for the opportunity to sit in a room full of like-minded data and analytics geeks. We were not disappointed by the lively discussion and debate we witnessed.
In a recent study released by Econsultancy and Lynchpin, they find that currently analytics is a picture of two worlds. The technology continues to get more sophisticated, but the challenges in interpreting and actioning the data are only getting bigger. These findings fall right in line with the thoughts of the OMMA panelists as well.
The morning keynote, Jeffrey Eisenberg, the CEO of FutureNow, started the day with a report card saying that “Measurement gets an A-, but acting on the data gets a D.” There are so many tools and there is so much data available to marketers, but few are doing a good job of turning that data into actionable insights and plans for improvement.
The afternoon keynote, Rishad Tobaccowala, CEO of Denuo, built on that by focusing on the need for marketers and agencies to identify decision-making data in an age of what he referred to as “data diarrhea.” There’s so much data at our fingertips, but none of it is meaningful if it doesn’t help you make decisions. “Pick your three or four metrics that define success and tie those to your business decisions,” he said.
As the role of metrics and measurement becomes more and more critical for every marketing program, I find these observations to be particularly important. We know that there is data available for anything and everything - getting that data is the easy part. The exciting and challenging part, and where we agencies can really add value, is in the interpretation and analysis.
So, where do you begin?
The first and most important step to data activation is to treat measurement as part of the strategy - recognizing how your data can help make strategic decisions for campaigns. Data can help you determine effective messaging and creative as well as vehicles for reaching your audience. By establishing metrics upfront, we can watch those measurements throughout the campaign and ensure the program is delivering what we want.
But it doesn’t end there. Data shouldn’t be used just to determine how a campaign performs. The great opportunity for this data lies in determining what’s next. The technology and vehicles for reaching consumers are changing every day - the data and insights we are able to glean from a program are critical in helping determine how we can reach them best in the future. Because consumers are more and more in control of creating their own experiences, the insights we have can help us understand the best ways we can fit into that experience.
We will be continuing this conversation as it relates to other key areas, including as social media, web stats measurement, attribution and more.
What would you like to hear more about as we continue our new data and analytics series on this blog?
photo credit: Search Engine People Blog
