Data Driven : Multichannel Challenges

Conquering analytics in a world of multiplying media

• Align data with business needs. Mapping data to the overall goals and performance needs of the organization is an important step. Fully understanding what data you need in order to guide key business decisions starts by answering the following:

• What are the primary and secondary goals of the organization or effort?
• What is the specific, quantitative measurement of these goals?
• What are the individual activities or actions associated with each measurement?
• What are the key drivers or indicators of the success or failure of each activity?

As you answer each question, identify which elements of your data inventory correspond to each point.

• Get your hands on it. The actual physical collection of data into one centralized place sounds like such a simple task, but an inability to do so defeats the effort before it has even begun.

By definition, multichannel marketing relies on data coming from multiple systems, people or resources. These multiplicities imply an innate level of complexity. If you rely on others to provide the information, be very specific as to your data needs and how data will be used. Put these needs in writing. Create a date for data collection, and schedule subsequent data delivery in advance.

And while the goal here is to assemble all of the data necessary to tell a complete story, don't let what might be temporary missing data points hold up the entire effort. If other people or missing systems are the culprits behind missing data, use the analysis and reporting process to further clarify needs and motivate others to make data collection a priority.

• Know your data. Know where it came from and what it is truly measuring. Understand the systems or processes that impact the data. Know what the data does and does not tell you.

This is not to suggest the data needs to be pristine or perfect. Let's face it, data rarely is. But you need to know the quality on the front end. For right or wrong, this allows you to understand how best to use the information and fully explain it to others.

• Organize the data. Assemble the data in ways that allow you to properly interpret it and tell a story. High-level summaries of key details work well. Numbers and graphics are good partners. Such representations help show relationships between various data points. Automated dashboard systems are popular tools used to organize and present multichannel analytics. Customized or off-the-shelf systems are available to meet nearly every need.

• Communicate, educate, repeat. Data has little or no value if it is not shared with others. While information may be "king," you don't want to be the only one with the key to the castle. Get into a set routine or reporting cycle for sharing the information.

Early in the process, schedule time with those who provide the data and those who receive the information. Use these opportunities to fact-check and create a clear understanding of your data sources, including how they came together and how the intelligence is being used.

Ongoing communication can change what and how you are reporting. Such redirection can help establish clarity and provide a better track to the success of your efforts. Circumstances and the opinion of others can result in just the right set of data or analysis necessary to be truly successful.

• External perspective. It may be very helpful to get an external point of view on your data and analytics. There may be outside resources that have benchmarked some of the same analytics you are looking at. They also may be good resources for helping you model the information and deciding what to do with it.

• Attitude is everything. Like most challenges (professional and personal), a proper attitude can make or break a situation. Multichannel analytics can present a complex challenge. But a well-orchestrated approach to the task, the ability to properly gather and interpret your data, and a thorough understanding of the needs of your organization are fundamental to achieving your goals.

Multichannel marketing is here to stay. The ability to track, measure and optimize it over time is driven by data plus the ability to analyze it and act upon it. Good luck climbing to new analytic heights.

Chad Giddings is executive vice president of marketing and planning at the Mission, Kan., direct marketing agency J. Schmid & Associates. He can be reached via e-mail at chadg@jschmid.com.

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