Are you ready to activate data from your data warehouse?

Most companies we speak with know they need to use their data better. But, they never feel like their data is perfect. These two competing forces cause analysis paralysis, where companies spin their wheels for months. The truth is, perfect data doesn't exist.

The world is split into two types of companies: “data hoarders” and “data growth drivers."

• Data hoarders want to make their data perfect and seek to solve all use cases for the data in a multi-year roadmap before making an impact.
• Data growth drivers find the first use cases of data and look to drive value with what they currently have.

Data growth drivers take a practical approach. Instead of having endless debates about the state of their data and the accuracy of their customer 360, they take an honest assessment of what exists today in their data warehouse. Then, they establish a clear state of the world and identify business growth use cases they can execute on in less than 90 days.

But how do they do it??

Data is never perfect

It may seem like your data isn’t “ready,” but it never will be. Embrace the data that exists and then build from there. Your first step is establishing your “Data State of the World."

This usually includes a data dictionary and entity relationship diagram (ERD). We also recommend simplifying with a quick slide like the one below so business stakeholders understand what is going on under the hood.

The most common misconception is that you need all the data on your customers to start driving value from it. In actuality, we typically see companies with:

• A customer table
• At least one of: A ransaction table (ex. purchases or orders) or an events table (ex. actions taken on a mobile device).

These tables can generate a ton of value for the business team. This is even before identity resolution or having “all the purchases or events a customer makes in one place.”

Drive value from your data cloud today

The longer your data sits in the warehouse, the less valuable it is. Not activating your data before it's perfect is like buying a convertible sports car when you live in Alaska. You’re holding onto something and not using it, essentially depreciating your investment.

To start driving value from your data cloud, you need to activate it. It's not enough for the data to be centralized.?

Data growth drivers look at where current data can drive business value in the next 90 days. Can it be used in email marketing for cross-sell campaigns? Can it be used in Salesforce to give sales reps opportunities to convert free trials to paid customers? Data growth drivers set out to identify their data's top three use cases.

With the use cases identified (i.e. cross-sell campaigns for email and push notification), they develop a process for delivering that data to the business team to execute the programs. Developing the process can take time and effort. It may even involve CSVs! But, the point is not to be efficient, it is to develop the habit, the muscle, in your organization to make data useful. Marketers and Sales teams begin working with your data team and creating a “culture of making data drive growth.” This takes time, but when it takes hold, it changes your company.

Once this muscle develops, you can look into tools like GrowthLoop to make it even easier for your business and data teams to collaborate and drive growth across marketing channels.

Check out the original version of this article to continue learning about data activation and the next steps you need to take. This post originally appeared on the GrowthLoop blog.