Why You Are Consuming More Data Than Ever, But Struggling to Produce Insights

Taking a data-driven approach to marketing is often mistaken for collecting?all?the data that you can get your hands on. Here’s a better way — shift your focus to insights!

Data’s a big investment for businesses across the board. According to?NVP’s 2022 Data and AI Leadership Executive Survey, 97 percent of organizations are investing in data initiatives.?

With all this investment, you would think that businesses are seeing a big return, right? Not so much, it turns out.

The same survey revealed that just 59.4% of respondents thought their data strategies were actually yielding results, and only a disappointing 26.5% have managed to become truly “data-driven.”

Why could 3 out of 4 companies be failing?

There’s a disconnect between gathering data and finding a constructive use for it.?Forrester?reports that 41% of businesses say it’s very or extremely challenging to turn data into insights that lead to good decisions.

Let’s face it. With both internal and external data sources to consider, it’s a real challenge to find the signal in the noise. It’s easy to be data rich and insight poor.

At Meltwater, I work with companies every day to solve that problem. Most companies have more than enough data, but lack the ability to use it well. Sometimes, the pursuit of data takes up so much time and head space that companies simply cannot act quickly enough to drill down to actionable insights.?

It reminds me of the?Jeff Bezos 70% rule. He contends that most decisions should probably be made with somewhere around 70 percent of the information you wish you had. If you wait for 90 percent, in most cases, you’re probably too late to the game.

The trick is to find the 70% that can really help you make smart decisions for your business.

Here is the secret that no one in the industry will tell you upfront:?Start with action. Before you collect all the data, think about what action you will take, or what decision you need to make, and then collect the?relevant?data.?

Here’s how I help our Meltwater Enterprise clients get out of insight poverty and become insight-rich.?

1. Align Objectives with Outcomes.?Even when your objectives seem obvious, take time to flesh them out. Think big picture to tie your objectives to outcomes, and don’t just look at one-off marketing reports. Meltwater starts at the logical beginning point by walking our clients through their business objectives. Ask yourself, what do the leaders of my organization define as success? Then align your activities with those goals, and think about which data points demonstrate your progress and your outcomes.?
2. Simplify Your Data Sources. Find ways to bring together multiple internal and external data sources (e.g., social media, Google analytics, website analytics, etc.) to create a more complete picture. Meltwater is a market-leading platform for this. It's the peanut-butter and jelly approach. Internal data paired with external data can show trends much more easily. Looking at just one set of data only gives you one side of the story.?
3. Turn Your Data into Visuals.?Humans process images faster than words, so turn data into easy-to-grasp graphics. Meltwater Enterprise gives you a leg up here by doing this for you. We focus on only using the core set of metrics (usually 3 to 4 max) that you want to look at to know what's happening. Think about the dashboard of your car. It has speed, fuel, temp, and RPM. With this information, the driver knows if they need to speed up, slow down, pull over, or change gear. The data is connected to actions you take and decisions you make. Only populate the screen with data that matters.?
4. Analyze, Act, Repeat.?Once you turn your data into insights - remember, an insight is something not so easily visible on the surface - act on those insights to improve your outcomes. Then, do it all over again. Insights don't last forever. You must revisit the data regularly to see how your actions changed the environment.?

Let’s say you want to run an influencer-driven brand awareness campaign. The objective is greater brand awareness, so insights related to audience growth, website traffic, and customer sentiment can support the campaign goal.

Meltwater serves as a single source of truth for brand mentions, competitor analysis, market research, media relations, and influencer management. For the purpose of this example, Meltwater can find relevant influencers, learn who their followers are and how they fit the target market, and view the influencers’ reach and engagement.?

Combining AI with human expertise, we turn our clients’ data into visuals and crystal clear insights.

Meltwater answers the “So what?” question about the numbers you collect so you can analyze, act, and repeat.

At Meltwater, I work with brands and large organizations to connect their data with real business objectives and create value from that intersection.?Get in touch?to see how it works!