Big Data – Framework to Be Smarter with Analysis

Marketers use data to assess campaign success, allocate budget, delineate customer analytics, design new products, optimize acquisition and retention, etc. However, with multiple data sources and owners, organizations often struggle with consolidating the right data and reporting to fully answer the questions asked. Along comes big data!  

Big data is exciting and challenging at the same time, since it affords a holistic look of customer analytics, yet exacerbates the complexity due to legacy data-silos and stakeholder needs.

This is a call for "smarter” approach to defining and using big data for tactical and strategic marketing objectives.

For marketers, a mapping exercise, as below, may help create a framework of available and needed data and systems. The layout identifies the evolution of data capture and applications, as organizations mature, and highlights the value being injected back into the business. It is telling in different ways – gaps in data capture, systems limitations, analytical resource allocation, etc. But most importantly, it highlights the need to innovate and upgrade legacy systems such that the analytics efforts can be targeted for the greatest impact and ROI.

It must be noted that the data silos are identified as they relate to customer analytics. Note that, as a marketer, I am looking into our current systems, so we can model returns from existing capabilities and tie the improvements to enhanced future investments. In other words, try and look at the parts to solve for the whole - get some short-term wins to articulate investments and the need to be on an "analytics fast lane.”

The question to ask of the management is – here’s where we are and here’s where we can be. Are we ready to invest?

The framework may help articulate big data scope and ROI, and also facilitate:

• Breaking down projects into chunks of easily manageable proposals
• Identifying the next big investment 
• Developing internal capabilities (organizational and personnel) 
• Providing a launching pad for execs to commit to larger projects

With investment along X-axis, we can improve our capabilities along Y-axis, which in turn, contributes to the growth trajectory graph. 

Are You Ready For the Anlaytics Fast-Lane?

Data and analytics are everywhere, with numerous examples of how the right analysis yields significant lifts in marketing or operational efficiencies. The returns are, without doubt, measurable and worth the investment. However, a word of caution for the leaders – don’t be swayed by case studies and peer recommendations, or assume that employing an analytics firm will yield similar results for your business. Being ready to utilize the feedback in a timely manner, with a clear implementation plan, is equally critical to realizing the ROI on your analytics investment. Here are a few questions to ask yourself, before embarking on an analytics project.

1. What is the problem statement? Be clear with what question you need answered. It could be; defining the target audience for your product or/service, understanding customer engagement with your product, improving acquisition effectiveness with better offers, identifying churn propensity by customer cohorts, etc. The key is to explicitly state the goal, stay focused and avoid the “noise.” Defining a clear problem statement upfront is crucial to staying focused and not be distracted by a lot "interesting" findings that are bound to pop-up.
2. Do you have the right data set? Work with your analytics and IT experts to identify the right metrics needed to answer the above questions. A third party perspective is always recommended in such instances, since it helps question the status quo and is not bound by what is familiar. Start as comprehensive as possible, since analytical modeling often throws new data dependencies that may not have been obvious. A holistic view of data points available from the data warehouse go a long way in defining the problem statement.
3. Is the organization ready to ingest the analysis? The best time to use the analysis is “now.” I have often contended that analysis based on historical data is like playing catch-up. But, with predictive modeling we can project certain behaviors with a fair degree of certainty. The imperative hence is, that an organization has the operational capability to act quickly on the recommendations (marketing & sales changes, product updates, online experience edits, etc.). Invest in the back-end systems that can adapt and learn from the new programs, or else, run the risk of being obsolete.
4. Do you have dedicated personnel to guide the process? This is the most important determinant of success, and perhaps the most overlooked as well. A well defined problem statement, predictive analytical models and process efficiency cannot be achieved unless we have the right analytical minds leading and nurturing the program. As an organization, we need to recognize the need for analytics leader who has the resources and can rally the operational teams to achieve the desired outcomes. The ROI of analytical projects depends on this critical investment, just as it does on problem statement and analytical modeling.

Analytics and data modeling empower the businesses, and to stay competitive, businesses need to equally weigh continuous innovation and implementation. Rapid deployment is as critical for success, as is harnessing and modeling business metrics!

Marketers - Re-assess Your Marketing Plan Now!

With a quarter gone, marketers ought to be digging into business performance and results. The lessons learnt and course-correction (if needed) should be clearly outlined for the remainder of the year. While the lessons are one for the books, the insights about course-correction dictate how we end the year. And, irrespective of how deep we are into our marketing commitments for Q2, I have found that this is a crucial time to revisit the marketing plan. Slow down after the frenetic pace of Q1 (as it often is in many industries), and spend some time to analyze and level-set the expectations for the rest of the year. Yes, I am suggesting slow down – just think of the benefits:

1. You will most certainly have a better sense of any corporate-level tactical shifts, and their likely impact on revenue projections and upcoming marketing campaigns
2. You will likely learn something new about your product performance and customer-buying propensities
3. You will be able to devise tactics to ensure revenue commitments stay on-course, based on 1 & 2 above
4. You will end the year with a bang – guaranteed!

So, what are we to consider now? 

• Analytics – make sure Q1 results are in and being analyzed for ROI by product, customer segment and marketing channel, not only for attribution, but also for tactical moves in Q2 and Q3. What is going to be the marketing goal based on these results? Is it better engagement with customers, or drive more sales, or brand promotion, or product updates? The answers to these will greatly impact your acquisition and retention models for 2016!
• Seasonality – you probably have a good grasp of the seasonality in your industry, sales, etc. But, make sure that there are no extraneous factors that may warrant changes to your campaign strategy. For example, consumer-spending tends go into a lull in Q2, before picking up again in Back-to-School and Holiday seasons. How is it being projected to be this year for your line of business?
• Customer Targeting – with slower months, it is also imperative that, to maintain a healthy ROIs and CPAs, more valuable leads are targeted with relevant offers. Sharpen your mailing list and tailor the products to the segments that are more likely to buy now. Predictive acquisition and retention models ought to be able with better campaign design and retention efforts!
• Communication Channel by Product – In my multi-product environment, I always look at what products are more likely to appeal to a buyer, through which channel. It could be based on demographics, geography, interest, etc., but that email, or content marketing, or newsletter that is in the works, better be "more" relevant. For example, online Travel used to take precedence over online Shopping during these months. What makes sense to sell to your target customers during the lean months?
• Budgets – understand the budget spends and make adjustments based on any new corporate imperatives. Usually, any over- or under-spending in Q1 could be corrected quickly during this phase. The ROIs and attribution by channel will shed more light on how is each channel performing for the brand.

A little postmortem of marketing performance from Q1 is probably one of the more important projects that are often inadequately addressed or staffed. If done right, it instills discipline and focus, which in turn, promotes efficiency and effectiveness of marketing operations. As I said above, we want to end the year with a bang!

Is your organization truly in a digital age?

Data is in abundance on consumers and their online engagement, be it content and/or eCommerce. What this means is that the marketers need to be more savvy about customer needs than applying “one size fits all” approach to talking to their customers. Digital competency is hence about harnessing this data and utilizing it to segment, target and serve the customers – need I say “real time!” 

To become a digital-savvy organization, we require an understanding of our marketing touch points and internal infrastructure that can support a multi-pronged approach to customer reach. Marketers need to ask the following questions in their organization:

1. What digital experience drives engagement and conversion in our company/industry?
2. What marketing channels are effective for what customer segments and why (data to support the claim)?
3. What data is captured in our systems and is it compatible across customer touch points?
4. Who owns the digital experience and are the right people empowered to make “consumer-centric” decisions?

If the answer is not a definitive yes to all of the above, I’d suggest there is some work that needs to be done in achieving true digital competence. The road map should hence, clearly identify deficiencies and investment needs to start utilizing the amazing power of our digital interaction with customers. Some of our more familiar metrics such as; customer acquisition rate, retention, marketing ROI, CLV, ARPU, etc., will then truly represent a view into our marketing success and provide deeper insights into how to optimize customer experience.

3 C’s of Consumer Centricity

Consumer-centric organizations are known to do all they can to engage with their customers and proactively cater to their needs. Often these will include product/service updates, social communications, systems to support consumer-centric strategies, etc. However, it is easy to feel burdened with multi-directional pulls on your consumer-centric strategy as tactical urgencies evolve in any business cycle. Keeping a framework of key consumer touch points is imperative in such situations to stay focused and continue to deliver on the promise of better than excellent engagement. I categorize these core consumer touch points into 3 areas – the 3 C’s of Consumer Centricity.

1. Content – what does a consumer see about your brand, products, services? Are you developing content that clearly communicates and reinforces the value of your products and services? Does this content remind the consumer how valuable their relationship is to the brand and vice-versa? Whether a consumer is using your products or not, we need to evolve our content strategy such that it caters to consumer need for information, before and after they make a purchase decision, and at the time of purchase, you will typically get the nod.
2. Choice – Do we offer choice in our products and services? Is our product strategy in-tune with the evolving market dynamics, namely, technological changes, consumer usage behaviors, market expectations, etc.? After we have successfully attracted consumer attention, we need to ensure we are ready to live up to the promise – great product and service. As and when consumers mature and place their trust in your brand, you need to be able to offer a portfolio that goes beyond the core product(s) and allows the customer to strengthen the bond.
3. Community – Speaking of bonding with brand, what better way than to draw customers into your community. Do you have a community that not only caters to customer queries, but also, provides valuable information to enhance your products/services? Social revolution has brought about a radical shift in organizations’ communications tactics, as to how frequently and what do consumers need to know. We need to proactively build this into our marketing strategy and invest in right resources to maintain it and keep it current. 

As we all know, consumer life-cycle starts well before they become our customers, and continues well beyond their first purchase. The 3 C’s provide a marketer’s view into this life-cycle and by creating the planning tools within this framework may just help simplify analysis, refine your marketing/communications strategies, maximize ROIs and contribute to your maturing as a consumer-centric organization.