Data is everywhere, and it’s growing at an unprecedented rate. In fact, experts say that we create around 120 zettabytes (120 billion terabytes) of data each day. But not all data is created equal. In fact, only about 1% of the data we collect is actually useful for decision making. So how do you get value from the 1% of your data that is actionable? In this blog, we’ll dive into the steps that digital product owners, data analysts, data visualization designers, heads of innovation, and CEOs can take to harness the power of data and transform their businesses.
1. Identify What Matters
The key to extracting value from data is to make sure that you have a clear understanding of what is important. Start by asking yourself what big questions you’re trying to answer. Are you trying to increase sales? Improve customer satisfaction? Optimize inventory? Once you know what you’re looking to do, you can focus your efforts on the data that will help inform your decisions in order to reach your goal.
2. Collect and Connect
The next step is to collect the data that is relevant to your question. This may involve collecting data from different sources, such as customer feedback, sales data, or website analytics. Once you have your data, the next step is to connect it. This can be done using data visualization tools, such as Tableau, Power BI, Looker or Google Data Studio, to create visualizations that make it easy to understand the relationships between different data points.
3. Analyze and Integrate
Now that you have your data connected, it’s time to start analyzing it. This part requires curiosity and experimentation, and involves looking for patterns, trends, and insights that can help you make better decisions. One way to do this is by using machine learning algorithms to identify correlations in your data that you might not have noticed otherwise. Once you have your insights, the next step is to share and involve others. Good data science, like all sciences relies on peer review so get your peers involved. Next, you can focus on integrating them into your business processes. This may involve creating new workflows, changing your marketing approach, or adjusting your pricing strategy.
4. Measure and Refine
The final step in getting value from data is to measure and refine your approach. This involves tracking your progress over time, using data to identify areas where you need to improve, and making changes to your approach as needed. By regularly measuring and refining your strategy, you can continue to extract value from the 1% of data that is actionable and stay ahead of the competition.
Data is one of the most valuable resources available to businesses today, especially now in the age of Artificial Intelligence. However, not all data is created equal. Focusing on the 1% of data that is actionable takes some patience because you don’t know at the onset which part is the most valuable. Digital product owners, data analysts, data visualization designers, heads of innovation, and CEOs can unlock the secrets of their data and transform their businesses over time using the steps above. With the right approach, you can collect, connect, analyze, integrate, measure, and refine your data to make better decisions, increase efficiency, and drive growth. In a world with exponential data growth, you simply can’t afford to waste time and resources on the 99%.