Organizations that align their data and business strategy are equipped to make the best decisions. A thoughtful data strategy marries purposeful data collection with informed decision-making to achieve goals.
In today’s fast-paced and flexible workplace, organizations must act and innovate to stay relevant and competitive. Instead of “trusting your gut” or using data sometimes—develop a strategy. A structured and intentional data strategy approach helps organizations allocate resources, maximize efficiencies, respond to demands, and grow. Here are four steps to help you create a data strategy for your organization:
Inventory your data
Organizations are awash in information. This makes it difficult for them to centralize, access, and use it strategically.
The first step, figure out what you have:
- List all of the sources of information used both frequently and infrequently
- Make a detailed description of each data source (i.e. source name, location, format, size, and the method used to integrate the information into daily operation)
- Discuss the elements of the current data based on your organization’s culture (i.e. why does it exist? Is it sensitive information? Is it reliable? Who owns the data? What do you typically do with it?)
Take a snapshot of your organization’s infrastructure: current operating mechanisms, the state of your technology, and areas for growth. Examining these may change processes and require an investment of human and financial resources, but it’s a key step toward deciding the data strategy that fits your culture
Ask questions
Let’s pretend that you’ve done the hard work of doing a data inventory. The next step to create a data strategy for your organization is to creatively think about the types of things you want to know. You know your culture. You know your organization’s strengths and weaknesses. What questions do you want to answer with the information you collect? Where do you see gaps in data that can drive towards your goals? You might wonder about member count, retention rate, event turnout, or website traffic. Here are some questions you might want to ask:
- Who is most likely to become an engaged member?
- Which members are most likely to leave?
- What marketing channels have the most impact?
- What will our revenue look like over the next year?
Define success
Data informs your business strategy–not the other way around. So, like Franklin Covey famously said, “Start with the end in mind.” Ask:
What defines success?
What metric is important to your organization? Is it membership growth? Retention? Is it engagement? However you define success, your pathway for getting there will be constantly influenced by the data you collect. Why? Because people and their habits are fluid.
Start small
Transition slowly into the world of data-driven decision-making with a pilot. Choose one of the questions you are curious about (i.e. what marketing channel has the most impact?) and run with it. Follow the steps we talked about: inventory, question, define success, and let data guide those decisions. Evaluate the process with your team and decide if and how to extend it to other areas.
While it may not be easy, implementing a data strategy is important for organizations. Doing so helps organizations collect reliable information to make informed decisions and thoughtfully allocate resources (technology, human, and financial) to reach goals. Following these simple steps will help you create a data strategy for your organization.
Want help in creating a data strategy? We can help you become all-in when it comes to data strategy.