Is the key to winning with data down to company culture?

Nov 1, 2017 3:02:13 PM

A hot topic at our recent breakfast seminar with Leap Three, ‘The Data Challenge’, was company culture. There were many key takeaways from the discussion, which you can find in our post ‘How can multichannel retailer win with data?’

In this post, we are going to focus on one of the prevalent points throughout the discussion: company culture and the importance of data within multichannel retailers. Is a lack of focus on data processes down to it not being ingrained within the existing company culture?

The data and insights are there…but is enough being done with them?

How is company culture effecting the use of data?

Company culture is important in any business, but within ecommerce & multichannel retail it is integral to the whole business functioning. It was clear throughout the discussion that one of the biggest challenges with data was that it wasn't as big a part of the culture as it should be.

Some companies felt that the analysts are literally sat in the corner, keeping them away from the action so to speak. They felt the same could be said for their findings in the data too. Insights from data are simply not going anywhere…it will likely be reviewed within the analytics and marketing teams, but will get nowhere near director level members of the business.

Different teams want different things…no one is communicating, and this is obviously a huge culture problem.

Budget challenges – Let’s face it…everyone has faced an issue or two when it comes to budget planning. However, when it comes to analytics and data, there are more challenges than usual. Whether it is down to understanding of the function or more money going into proven successes, everything seems to become a business case. If a business is successful, are they less likely to rely on data insights?

Many of the participants disagreed with this statement, believing that companies will ride any wave of success…they just need to use insights to make those waves bigger! How can retailers ensure a culture that recognises the importance of customer data?

We’ve seen some of the challenges these retailers have faced, particularly when it comes to data and company culture.

How can these issues be resolved?

Ask the question: Whose responsibility is it to make sure data insights go the distance? The participants of the discussion all agreed that there should be a collective ownership, with a strategy and plan, to ensure data is stored and used. Hiring the right people – Businesses need to find people who not only understand the data, but have the influence and skill to make things happen with it. Another point regarding team members was a quick discussion around hiring data scientists.

Are businesses rushing into hiring these team members and are they not looking at the resources they already have? They essentially have to ask themselves what can be done right now rather than what can’t be done without a data scientist on board.

Embedded analysts – To counter the ‘analysts in the corner’ point, the idea of an embedded analyst was raised. The analytics members of the team will sit within the Digital Marketing team or ecommerce team, for example, so that their insights will directly impact these teams.

There would be no need for update meetings that keep being pushed back, as the insights already feed directly into the team strategy. Every team will have their KPIs but there must be common KPI’s and common digital KPIs to create a universal understanding of business goals – which includes insights from customer data.

Don’t rely on data for justification…use actionable insights to improve!

LeapThree and cranberry panda breakfast seminars

Does this insight into the LeapThree and cranberry panda breakfast seminars have you intrigued? The seminars are held bi-monthly in a Central London venue, kicking off at 8:30AM. The agenda includes a complimentary continental breakfast catered by Ottolenghi, an introductory presentation by a guest speaker, a roundtable discussion and networking opportunities!

What do you think?

Share your thoughts on this post - whether you agree, disagree or have your own insight to share, we want to hear from you!

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