In our digital age the amount of things we can measure is exponentially increasing. This is true for almost every industry that exists. But especially so for advertising and agencies.
A recent study by Kantar describes advertisers as ‘drowning in data.’ So is data still important? How can we be confident using data and how do we effectively put data to use for our business optimisation?
Is data still important?
First and foremost – yes! Data is still massively important. Effective data management can help you control and understand a vast number of things.
You can see how many jobs you currently have live, what the timelines of those jobs are, what prospects you have in your pipeline and perhaps most importantly what the cost of sales and revenue of those jobs are.
Data can not only help streamline business, it can also help you obtain new clients, communicate more effectively and have the evidence to push through new ideas. But for those of us who don’t have dedicated teams analysing data, it can be easy to look at the reporting features on a new system and feel completely overwhelmed.
How do you understand where in the system the numbers are coming from and what they are telling you? How do you know what to value and what to let slide? We explore some top tips to help you make a call on the best way to manage your data.
What to analyse, what to let go
Agency management systems have hundreds of standardised reports and plugins that can allow you to pull data in literally every direction. Whilst there is a lot of valuable information in this data, it’s basically pointless unless you can turn it into an actionable plan.
Instead of starting with the data, we would suggest starting with your strategy.
- What are your business goals?
- What are you looking to share with your clients?
- What do you want to improve or streamline?
If you know what you are looking for, you can make the data work for you. Put together a strong list of questions that you want answers to and go from there.
And of course, it’s important to know that these goals may change from project to project or quarter to quarter. As your agency evolves, so too will your strategy and therefore the data you need to make that strategy work.
Who is analysing the data and how
In the Kantar study they note that advertisers lack of confidence with data is rising year on year. In 2016 lack of confidence was at 10% and in 2019 it is now at 19%. That’s a significant jump!
What we see in businesses is not only a lack of knowledge in how to make the most of data but also teams who don’t have the time to effectively analyse the sheer volume of data they are being asked to collect.
So how can we help you be more confident using data for transformative change?
System consulting and tailored workshops
Once you’ve refined what your strategic goals are, you need to make sure that those being asked to analyse the data have intuitive tools and interfaces that can help them with their jobs.
Not sure what tools to use? We offer solution consulting and assessment, to help you and your team find the right system for your agency.
Whatever system you choose, you will want to make sure that when implementing it, you have the right team on board and the right processes in place. System and agency processes should be aligned, to ensure you get the data required to meet your reporting objectives,
We offer tailored, transformational workshops that ensure that your agency has the processes in place to get the data you need from your new system.
Communication
Having every member of your organisation on board with strategic goals will help you focus your business, making sure you are all working towards the same objectives.
If everybody knows what these objectives are you can share your successes (boosting confidence amongst your team), as well as the areas that need improvement.
In conclusion…
Sometimes it can feel like data is an overwhelming beast. There are so many sources, reports and analytics, but if you strip back data to the decisions you need to make and the processes you use to get there, it can be an invaluable resource to your organisation.
Get in touch to find out how we can help you optimise your business.
