DATA DUTY

With the Information Age upon us, there is a growing need to utilise our data to understand what drives our audiences’ purchasing decisions and to inform our strategies. Meetings gets to the bottom of the matter.

Data is a precious thing and will last longer than the systems themselves.”

Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web

Over the past two decades, we have seen a massive increase in our capacity to access, produce, store and reference enormous amounts of data. Figures from Statista show that market revenue for data hosting, storage, and cloud computing services, just on its own, is projected to reach US$163 billion (R2.5 trillion) by 2021.

Even more valuable than this is being able to, from the data we have available, garner insights into understanding our stakeholders’ purchasing decisions and better informing our business strategies.

“To thrive in this new age, every organisation needs a complete view of its data – real-time insight, with the ability to take real-time action,” says a report from Splunk, a US multinational and listed data solutions company.

The report notes that 81% of 2 259 surveyed participants believe data is crucial to the success of their operation. And nowhere could data be more relevant than where we find ourselves now.

On the back of the Covid-19 pandemic and a strained economy, where many industries are working twice as hard for half the money – if they’re lucky – purchasing decisions are being made with several considerations in mind. Revenue streams that were once flowing strongly have dried up, which has naturally led to decision-makers and those with purchasing power to reconsider their budgets and trim costs down to the bare minimum to ensure business survival.

This is where understanding the power of our data comes in handy.

HARNESSING OUR DATA Among the massive advantages of operating in the Information Age are the analytics behind it. This exists in its own complex ecosystem and it is closely interlinked with technological advances such as hardware, software and, of course, connectivity – the glue that provides access, archiving and navigation in real time.

Suddenly, we can compile audience demographics and establish how long they have interacted with our brand’s campaign and on what device. The higher our views and click-throughs, the more relevant we know our campaign is to our existing audience. A/B split testing enables us to test the waters, constantly tweaking and optimising what works best for which audiences. These insights are key to drilling down to the subtle nuances that either draw in or stifle potential growth opportunities.

Interestingly, we are just on the cusp of understanding how to harness and utilise our data, and two-thirds of companies from the Splunk report say they are “in the dark” when it comes to how to use their own information,

with this being “untapped, unknown, unused”. Meanwhile, nearly half of these businesses worry that they will fall behind their competitors with the rapid growth of data, highlighting this as a growing area of concern.

FLUCTUATING LANDSCAPE An important aspect of data to understand is that it is in a constant state of flux, particularly if we are factoring in the human element, which is, in itself, variable. More importantly, as we understand these variable changes, we can refine our strategy to ensure we are top of mind for our existing and potential markets.

Barring word-of-mouth recommendations and reviews, decision-makers’ purchasing decisions are often based on sentiment. This is contingent on a range of intricacies that are entrenched in psychology, and encompasses everything from design to how the weather is currently affecting individual moods.

We can see how rapidly this shift can occur with the current pandemic, which has affected determining factors such as perceptions and values that would typically lead to the purchase of services or products. Businesses and consumers are no longer spending in the same way they did nearly a year ago because their priorities have had to align with the new landscape.

Despite what has been a near-crippling effect for many, the world didn’t stop turning. While it is business unusual, life has and is carrying on, and those who are seeing the most success during this time have their offerings established in such a way that they can connect with their customers and deliver relevant services using the most agile means possible. In the context of where we are currently, this has translated to successfully leveraging digital to stay ahead of the curve. THE IMPORTANCE OF ‘WHY’ Tapping into our data means utilising this in a way that supports our business objectives. On the flip side of this coin, this needs to be of interest and relevance to our stakeholders, which extend to our audiences and clients.

Unfortunately, this isn’t and shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all solution because data, in a business sense, by its very nature, is specific to a brand and its end-users. The silver lining within this is that our unique solution is rooted in this challenge, with the next step here being personalisation – the pinnacle of our efforts.

We already know from our own habits that attention spans are fleeting. We have mere microseconds to make an impression and generate interest in our campaign. Additionally, if it doesn’t connect with our audiences meaningfully in a way that they immediately take notice of, its purpose is lost. WHERE TO START Start at the end. Identify your objectives and take stock of what you already know but consider what you still might want to understand before you shop around for the right solution.

There are numerous tools available online, with Google Analytics being among the most popular; however, if you are out of your depth, a host of local and global consultancies and companies provide data and analytics services. But – like your niche data solution – many of these are industry-specific and varied in their offerings so it helps to have a rough scope of your needs in this regard before taking the plunge.