Quiz: Are you making good use of your data?

According to IDC, more than a third of companies in APAC now have mature big data and analytics capabilities. This means that in just two years, that percentage has increased five times to 34 percent, as compared to 7 percent in 2014. For marketers, the ability to immediately measure and optimise campaigns is bringing brands closer to their customers, and the ones who do so have much to gain.

But what of the remaining two-thirds? Faced with a snowballing cache of data and increasingly savvy competitors, these companies have to take a leap of faith, and build their data management capabilities. The challenge is knowing where to start.

To help you along, we at Nugit have created a quick Decision Ready Index - a simple questionnaire for you to gauge and self-assess your process for big data. These questions are designed to help you determine whether you’re putting your data to good use, in helping you make better decisions.

Questions

1.     How much data do you have to report on?

○      A manageable amount - I hardly break into a sweat (3 points)

○      Several Excel spreadsheets worth - I break into a light sweat (2 points)

○      Too much to quantify - I need help, I’m drowning (1 point)

○      I don’t know - I need help (0 points)

2.     How often do you do your reporting?

○      Daily (3 points)

○      Weekly (2 points)

○      Monthly (1 point)

○      Ad-hoc / Never (0 points)

3.     Is everyone aware of the company’s data policy and strategies?

○      Yes – there are policies and strategies in place that everyone is aware of (3 points)

○      Yes – there are policies and strategies in place, but only on a need-to-know-basis (2 points)

○      No – but we are working on it (1 point)

○      None – no one knows what to do with data (0 points)

4.     Where do you get data for your reports? Add one point for every answer that applies.

○      Social platforms (Facebook / Twitter / Instagram, etc.)

○      Programmatic advertising

○      Display advertising

○      SEO

○      SEM

○      Outdoor advertising

○      Media advertising (TV / Radio / Magazines etc.)

○      Other platforms: (please specify)

5.     How many people in your team work on reports?

○      1 person (3 points)

○      2-3 people (2 points)

○      4 or more people (1 point)

○      No one; ad hoc (0 points)

6.     How long does it take to gather your data to build reports (per person)?

○      Just a few hours a day, once a week (3 points)

○      A few hours, spread over a few days, weekly (2 points)

○      Too long – several days a week, every week (1 point)

○      Not long at all – raw data is used in reports (0 points)

7.     What level of difficulty would you rate your reporting process?

○      Beginner – anyone can do it (3 points)

○      Intermediate – will require a bit of training (2 points)

○      Advanced – requires seniors and technical knowledge (1 point)

○      Not long at all – raw data is used in reports (0 points)

8.     How do you use your reports?

○      Proactively and strategically. Data is used to identify opportunities to improve current campaigns and for new campaigns (3 points)

○      Reactively. Data is used to adjust ongoing campaigns when something goes wrong (2 points)

○      We just do it to get statistics and don’t fully understand the numbers (1 point)

○      I don’t know (0 points)

9.     How often do you make decisions based on reports?

○      Daily (3 points)

○      Weekly (2 points)

○      Monthly (1 point)

○      Occasionally or never (0 points)

10.  Who reads your reports?

○      Just me (0 points)

○      Managers (1 point)

○      Clients / Stakeholders (2 points)

○      Everyone (3 points)

Your Scores and Results:

25 points and above

Your organisation has a lot of data, and is using it to make smarter decisions. Data is integrated throughout the organisation so all departments are aligned, and insights acted on in a timely manner. Good job!

15 to 24 points

Your department is using data, but data quality and decision making can definitely be improved. Develop a case study to support this and share the results for management buy-in. Other departments’ data can then be integrated for a bigger picture and improved performance.

0 to 14 points

Your data reporting is largely limited or worse, non-existent. Your organisation is at serious risk of being left behind in this digital age. Start implementing and reviewing reporting procedures; look into ways to automate the consolidation and reporting of data. It’s best not to try and build this in-house from scratch, but rather, look for professional partners who can help.