Presented at the Customer Analytics and Marketing Optimisation Conference - May 2010.

Analytics is another evolution of business. It’s not a trend or a fad but a true science that can provide a strong backbone for business decisions. Used with clear Purpose it can become a long-term business lifestyle, but if not adopted into the culture of a company its benefits will not be fully realised.

A look at the evolution of the web and its business Purpose puts this into perspective.

Web 1.0: A landing page and often a show of web presence with little differentiation and even less expectation of ROI. Web 1.0 was a place of one-dimensional interaction where information was given to the consumers with little to no engagement. Many businesses had a web presence becausetheir competitors did, but with no lifestyle adoption.

Web 2.0: Th ought leadership began to shine through. Web 2.0 was/is an engaging marketplace of ideas and searchability. Any information is available on the click of a mouse and with a plethora of advice available it is easy to get lost in data. Many businesses began interacting with customers and with each other through blogs and in real-time but few harnessed the power of Web 2.0 to build brand equity and gain customer insight. 

Web 3.0: Purposeful searching with defined criteria and a starting point. The criteria is determined
by the user and creates a brief of specific parameters for both gathering information and for
customer interaction.

It’s not simply a strategy that will ensure new business applications add long-term value; it’s a change in business lifestyle. To make Analytics an indispensable concept, business leaders must learn and embrace the ever-changing landscape and ensure that lifestyle is well suited for their unique culture.

I. Moving beyond ad-hoc analytics to a more integrated, strategic approach.

This is why Purpose is the answer. Ad-hoc actions all have a place in business. Trying to move toward a strategic approach is not the answer to business integration of analytics. Simply talking about ad-hoc actions or strategic thinking is short-term; Purpose makes this a long-term business discussion. 

To explain, think of Ad-hoc actions without Purpose:
a. Tactics: we extend a line of business capability in order to gain or retain a customer
b. Campaigns: conducting a timebomb campaign tactic with no brand strategy
c. Applications: using Google Analytics because its free and easy, but having no plan in place to action on findings

Add Purpose to those actions:

a. Tactics: we extend a line of business capability in order to secure long-term contracts
b. Campaigns: we conduct timebomb campaigns in order to drive customer response
c. Applications: we use Google Analytics to tell us how our web traffic is tracking

But Purpose is an empty shell of a word, it should mean something different to each business; it should
not mean something different to each employee.

II. Convincing senior management of the benefifi ts of analytics.

The benefits and usage of any analytics program varies from company to company. Guaranteed success lies
in understanding business culture and business lifestyle.
Culture comes from the top, it’s the company ethos, it’s personal and human – culture changes only with
progression or evolution.

Lifestyle is purposeful learnt behaviour coming from anywhere i.e. the introduction of customer analytics. All too often executives give management mandates such as “grow to $xx revenue”, “30% year-on-year growth”, “sale price of $xx” and they leave it up to employees to interpret their individual impact. By putting these into culture and lifestyle  Purposes, businesses can ensure alignment, consistency and clarity in those mandates.

III. Organisational education of analytics and the need for an internal champion.

Customer Analytics creates a balance of economics, marketing, statistics and theory that helps to create a more scientific business environment. But is also dehumanises the business environment. The two main advocates of analytics must humanise data, exciting employees and the market with innovative solutions and ideas.

There are two main advocates:

1. The CEO - must incorporate the culture of the business with the lifestyle of analytics
2. The Internal Champion - This person ensures that analytics doesn’t get in the way of a good idea. They are the data gatekeeper, balancer and reporter

When making business decisions scientific a sound starting point needs to be in place. And, as mentioned  previously, that starting point must be dictated from the CEO or company leaders. The CEO is in charge of culture and direction—he is in charge of the human aspect of business. The internal champion of Customer Analytics ideally is skilled at balancing this human aspect of business with the scientific element of data. It is up to them to excite, dazzle and wow the company with their insights. But if the CEO hasn’t made the connection clear between where he is leading the company then the data findings will appear disjointed and out of left field.

To win once you need to be lucky; to win again and to constantly compete at a high level you need to know how to win. New applications are simply another tool, a lifestyle. They in themselves will not make you win. Don’t fool yourself or your business into that thinking.

Customer Analytics and scientific marketing in general have the ability to become an endemic part of your business. The success lies with the CEO having a Purpose that is shared and practiced by everyone internally and externally.