The start of your data strategy: begin small, end big 

The start of your data strategy: begin small, end big 

We know that data is the lifeblood of any organization. From big data to machine learning, data science to AI, it’s all about leveraging your data to better understand your customers, drive sales, and increase retention. But with so many buzzwords and terms flying around, it can be hard to know where to start.  

That’s why we’re here to help. In this blog, we’ll walk you through the essential steps for shaping and optimizing a data strategy that works for your organization: 

• Start with defining your high-level data strategy  
• Ask yourself critical questions and determine your maturity level  
• Get to work on a hypothesis & create a business case  
• Make a first analysis  

• Extrapolate the results within your organization 

So, let’s dive in! 

Create a solid foundation 

Data is the backbone of any organization. From big data to data science, it’s a vital part of a company’s assets. It helps you guide your prospects to the right product or service, enhance customer satisfaction, and boost retention. But where do you start with your data strategy?  

We can help you with that. We believe that it all starts with setting strategic goals that align with your company’s growth plans. Do you want to increase customer retention using churn models? Or are you looking to acquire new prospects or increase brand awareness for an upcoming product launch? 

Once the goals are defined, it’s essential to align all stakeholders, including marketing, sales, IT, and business development. Clear and measurable KPIs should be established to ensure everyone is moving in the same direction. Additionally, it’s crucial to break down any existing silos and establish a company culture that supports a data-driven approach.  

Finally, you need to assess your current data situation and identify areas that need improvement. Here are some key areas to consider: 

• Organization: is data mostly collected and used individually or is data shared across the organization?  
• Data tactics: in addition to a marketing strategy, is there already a clear data strategy in place?  
• Culture: how is data perceived within your organization? What is the perception of it?  

• Reporting: to what extent is data reported?  
• Policy: is there a clear policy in place on how to handle data within your organization?  
• Metrics: how is data measured and why? Are the metrics aligned with the strategic goals that have been determined?  
• Technology: how integrated is your digital ecosystem and is there one truth present to make the right decisions? 

Build your data strategy 

Once you have set up your high-level strategy, it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty and start developing concrete business cases with your stakeholders.  

These cases are based on the broader business objectives you’ve established. For example, if your goal is to reduce churn on specific services, you need to work SMART to identify how to achieve it. With your digital ecosystem mapped out, you can easily pinpoint gaps that may prevent you from utilizing certain data.  

This is where you can optimize your processes and let your data flow freely to… 

• Target certain customer segments that have X number of years of loyalty  
• Start linking the NPS survey you conduct with your central CRM system to create a 360° view  

• Organize a VIP event for the high-end segment  
• … 

When developing such a business case, it is best to start with the customer journey. Within this customer journey you will, for example, zoom in on loyal customers and create an inventory of data points that you can work with. Try to map out the metrics as best you can so you can determine the comparison afterwards. Drawing the right conclusions from this is of the utmost importance. For example: 

• The churn rate on customer segment X after 6 months  
• The number of responses (number of event registrations, contest entries, completed surveys, etc.)  

• Upsell activities  
• The increase in engagement on communications (click rates, open rates, website visits, etc.) 

Implement your data strategy 

Once you have achieved some success with these business cases, you can start to expand this way of working throughout the whole organization. Companies that adopt a data-driven mindset and where it is inherent in the company culture can retain up to 6 times more customers than an organization that does not engage in analytics. Gut feeling within entrepreneurship is a huge asset but combining it with understanding your customers from a data-related perspective will really give you a competitive advantage. 

Let’s face it, having the latest and greatest technology is great, but it won’t get you very far if you don’t have a clear direction. That’s why it’s important to start with a solid foundation when developing your data strategy. This will enable your organization to effectively engage with your customer segments, optimize internal processes and ultimately achieve your goals.  

At BeBold, we understand that creating a data-driven culture can be overwhelming. That’s why we’re here to help you navigate the data web and make the right decisions for your organization.