How well is your data working for you?

Most organisations believe that continuing to undertake research activities through common forms is a key contributing factor to remaining competitive. These ‘forms’ include but are not limited to benchmarking, competitor analysis, tracking sales and consumer buying and habitual behaviours - all of which are reliant on data.

The use of both primary and secondary data is still heavily promoted, as it provides organisations with a deeper industry experience and an understanding on key areas, which ultimately, have the ability to hinder the successes of organisations. For example in the Banking sector, it is understood that - in addition to industry data - many continue to utilise Deloitte, McKinsey, Reuters and Bain for validation of secondary data.

In relation to international firms in Australia, there also appears to be a precedent where majority have seen the benefits in leveraging off locals to assist with researching and understanding the market. This hasn’t worked in all instances as seen with Hollister, who appear to have misread the Australian market opportunity – a result of not understanding the commissioned research and subsequent data? 

For me, all this hype around Big Data is just that, hype. There has and continues to be an abundance of data available, it is just more easily accessible now than in the past. However, the issue which most of us have is the ability to understand and interpret the data for the purpose of creating a richer customer experience, driving sales and growth.

Therefore, spending the right amount of time upfront developing thorough and detailed reporting, is not only vital to the success of a firm, but a critical component of the required conceptual framework.

Once they have been able to decipher their customer data, many organisations go through the motions of reprioritising via the adaptation of their strategy, to ensure that the customers’ needs are continually met. This process of adjustment is a balancing act, as it can be a fine line between reducing opportunity cost for revenue to ensure customer needs and expectations are met.

The importance of planning, implementation and re-evaluation on a regular basis typically correlates to a firms’ successes. It may all start and end with data, but the art is in understanding and utilising the information at hand. Lastly, the amount and quality of research, development, planning and preparation undertaken by a firm typically translates into greater success as a result of better understanding their customers.