There is no denying it. Data is the hottest trend for marketers and businesses everywhere. And rightly so! You’ve all seen the stats. The amount of information created every day; it’s incredible. 2.5 quintillion bytes of data is created each day. As a matter of fact, the pace is speeding up with the Internet of Things’ growth (IoT).

Data as a strategic asset is more important than ever. It can be a source of opportunity and insight.

Formulating your data strategy can be challenging, just like other strategies. But with a little bit of help, the process doesn’t have to be complicated. To get your team thinking “big picture” about data, start with five questions. WHAT data are you looking for? WHY you’re looking for it? WHERE will your business store the data? WHO will use the data, and HOW will it affect the business?

What data is currently being collected?

A well-defined data catalog of your information helps manage data. As a result, it allows you to see future data needs. And what data could enhance your business to take your company to new heights.

Why are you collecting the data you are collecting?

The best place to start is to ask yourself: why am I collecting this data? Is it to know how to get new customers? Do you want to understand if your marketing spend is paying off? Is it to inform future marketing decisions? Or is it just for tracking purpose? – So you know what’s happening and what isn’t with the website, products and more.

How will you store your raw first-party data?

The next part is to determine how you store your raw first-party data. Most platforms allow you to get access to your data. But the data usually sits in silos. Also, some platforms allow limited access to your data. Additionally, it isn’t easy to customize reports to your specified needs. These reasons are why a data warehouse is essential. Storing all of your data from various platforms in one place lets you do a more robust analysis.

Who will be utilizing the organization’s data?

Naturally, you’ll also want to consider who will be utilizing the data. You need to know what parts of the business will need access to data. Likewise, you want to consider what type of data they need. With this information you can provide access to the data. As well as, how to organize your dashboard and reporting functionality properly.

What is the business case for your data strategy?

Last, similar to other strategies, you’ll want to identify the business case around the data strategy. What is the expected, quantifiable value you desire or the target that you’d like the data strategy to achieve? Additionally, it is beneficial to have a hypothesis going in that you can later compare to actual results.

In addition to the bare-bones process outlined above, your strategy should also include deciding what Martech will allow you to accomplish your organization’s needs. Each piece of technology utilized should provide value-added information. Similarly, this is an opportunity to identify platform overlaps and gaps. More than likely, you will need to add to your data stack.

Data Warehouses

Data warehouses are essential to the modern analytics world. Choosing a vendor isn’t easy. You’ll want to select a warehouse that best suits your needs, amount of data, and budget. Some of the top data warehouse software out there, in terms of market share, include – SAP Business Warehouse (15.3%), Snowflake (11.92%), and Apache Hive (10.82%).

Customer Data Platforms (CDPs)

A CDP provides robust insights about customers to help you grow your business. So, you’ll want to invest in a Customer Data Platform (CDP). CDPs eliminate the data silo problems. So you get a unified look at your data. And you learn how your customer interacts with your company. It is an invaluable tool for any business. One of the top CDPs out there is Segment (https://segment.com/)

Contact Zora Digital

Are you interested in a Segment installation? We’re a Segment certified integration partner. We can help walk you through the process.

If your business needs help developing your own data strategy, schedule a consultation.

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Zora Digital is a Chicago digital marketing agency. We help modern lifestyle brands navigate the digital landscape. And we help them create significant ROI.