EBOOK

A GUIDE TO
DEVELOPING AN
EFFECTIVE DATA
ANALYTICS STRATEGY
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
What is a data analytics strategy
& its benefits 01

How do you develop a data analytics

strategy? 04

Importance of people and processes

in data analytics strategy 08

How to convert data into actionable

strategy? 09
They say dating is a numbers game. It could be true. But our entire life is a numbers
game, the only caveat is that the game is played by marketers, advertisers, and
businesses. Almost every decision that we make today happens because a company
in some part of the world studied our behaviour, crunched numbers, and realized
that if they offer the product at a particular price point, you will buy. Having a data
analytics strategy is pivotal to both B2B and B2C companies.

It is estimated that by 2025, the global datasphere will grow to 175 zettabytes.
More than 30% of this data needs real-time processing. Majority of the enterprise
companies will have their data stored in a public cloud data warehouse like Amazon
Redshift, Google Big Query, Snowflake, etc, by 2023. With all the hullabaloo about
data, analysing it to get the maximum benefits seems like the most optimal thing to do.

What is a data
analytics strategy
& it’s benefits
Companies collect large volumes of data from different channels. If used efficiently,
this data can turn into information using which businesses can completely turnaround
their existing business. Implementing a data analytics strategy to use the data
efficiently requires planning, integration of systems and cohesive efforts from
different departments. The entire process in creating a data analytics process from
the ground up for your business needs is called a data analytics strategy.

01
#1 Helps your business become
more agile:
Having an efficient data analytics strategy enables organizations to organize its data,
get practical insights and make smarter business decisions. Businesses that have a
data analytics strategy in place will be able to use real-time metrics to take tough
business decisions.

#2 Mitigating instances of risk

and fraud:
With the help of security and fraud analytics, you will be able to protect your
physical, financial and intellectual assets from any kind of threats, both internal and
external. With the right data analytics capability, you will be able to create a
mechanism which will detect any fraudulent activity, identify and track perpetrators
as well as predict instances of fraud in advance. Integration and correlation of data
across different departments in a company makes it possible to identify fraud in
different areas.

02
#3 Improve customer experience:
The right analytics strategy will help you to design, control and optimize business
operations in the production of goods or services. It will ensure efficiency in terms of
achieving operational excellence and fulfilling the needs of the customers. Using
advanced analytics, you can even ensure continuous improvements in terms of
day-to-day operations.

#4 Personalization:
Being treated like a human instead of just one more number that adds to a company’s
bottom line is something that every prospective customer dreams of. It is something
that all marketers strive to achieve- making the customers feel special. One of the best
ways to make something like that happen is by providing a personalized experience.
With the help of a data analytics strategy, you will be able to recommend products,
optimize your pricing, and even offer solutions that are unique to their needs.

#5 Offering the right products:

Is the product that you are building in tune with what your customer is expecting from
you? If there is even an iota of doubt when answering the question, then you need to go
back to your drawing room and see what can be done. By using data analytics, you will
be able to collect data from different sources, right from what your customers are
talking about your product on social media platforms to how similar products have
fared in the market. It will give you an idea of how your product should be tweaked
according to your customer’s expectations.

#6 Cost cutting:
Would businesses be happy to reduce the cost of their product while maintaining the
same profits from each sale? Absolutely. As long as it doesn’t affect their profits,
businesses will be more than happy to pass on the benefits to the customers as it
means that they will be able to increase the number of sales because of the reduction
in price. Data analytics helps you find patterns in a product and servicing pricing, the
steps that can be taken to take care of it and reduce costs accordingly.

03
 How do you develop
a data analytics
strategy?
#1 Write down your objectives:
You need to know what exactly you aim to achieve with the help of the data analytics
strategy. Only then will you be able to arrive at which data you should concentrate
on. There is no need to monitor data from every single source. Let’s say if your
objective is to find out the characteristics of your premium customers, then you
don’t have to look at the data of those who have left your services for a competitor
citing pricing issues.

#2 Choose the right sources to

collect data:
There are many sources from where you can collect data. Choosing the right ones will
make all the difference. You cannot afford to choose data sources that are not reliable.
It has to have enough information that will help you make informed decisions.

Companies should have a comprehensive look at different types of data by being

specific about its business problems and opportunities that they need to consider.

04
#3 Technology infrastructure
requirements:
Here are some more things that you need to consider:

How do you collect the data?

Do you estimate the data or collect it from various sources?
Should you purchase data from third-party market trend data or macro
economic data?
Should you create a new system to implement or generate the data?
Do you have a standard integration tool to collect the data from different source
systems?
Should the IT department create reports or does the tool have the ability to do
it by itself?

#4 Allow for easy information

sharing across departments:
Data silos can be an issue in organizations that do not believe in sharing information.
It can be a problem when the only way to get things done in a fast manner is to share
information across different departments. Encourage transparency within the
organization by making it easy to share relevant data.

#5 Integrate data across platforms:

The data that you collect from different sources should be integrated so that you can
get the most out of it. In such a situation, it becomes easy to implement automation
which will help in freeing the employee so that they can concentrate on other work
as well as cutting the costs.

#6 Plan for data analysis:

Once you are clear about your information needs and the data required, you should
define how you plan to convert data into insights which will help you achieve your
business goals. Data can be collected across various areas including email conversations,
social media posts, phone conversations, chatbot conversations, etc. There is a lot of
data that lies untapped which lies in unstructured data.

05
#7 Choose competent tools:
Once you know what you want and the areas from where you are going to collect
data, the next step is to use business analytics tools. Based on your goals and
requirements, identify the tools that are the most optimal. You need to choose a tool
that will serve your business interests. Do remember that no two business analytics
tools have the same capabilities, so it is imperative that your final decision is based
on your specific needs.

#8 Protect your data:

In the melee to create a thorough data analytics strategy, do not lose sight of the fact
that your customers have put their trust in you. Do not put yourself in a vulnerable
position where your customer’s data could be compromised. Stay up to date with the
GDPR regulations so that you can stay compliant. Ensure that your strategy is
prepared in such a way that you could easily change them based on the ever-changing
regulations.

06
#9 Establish data governance:
The spurt in usage of data is not only something that brings in a lot of benefits but
prods us to be more responsible. Create policies and procedures for establishing
data governance. Having a data governance policy ensures that the data is used
responsibly across the entire organization.

#10 Training and execution:

While it is not necessary that the leadership has to understand how to use data, there
should be trained data technologists who have the knowledge to analyze and
understand the data. From using data analysis tools to getting the nod from the
leadership team by explaining them the benefits, data analytics experts should be
proactive in creating an atmosphere of change.

07
 Importance of people
and processes in data
analytics strategy:
A new data strategy will bring about data, analysis and newer tools. Will the
employees be able to handle the technicalities involved with this new transition? You
should make it a point to evaluate the skillsets of these users. Will they require special
training? Does the new system entail a bigger workforce? Are they familiar with what
is necessary?

Do your present processes allow your business to have a new data analytics strategy?
When there is a new system in place, you need to be sure if the employees are ready
for the change. If not, then you should create a training plan and ease them into it.

When it comes to processes, not all businesses have the structure where they
encourage newer systems to get implemented with ease. For incorporating data
analysis into your system, you might have to re-engineer your entire system. Ensure
that the entire process is documented.

08
 How to convert data
into actionable
strategy?
Collecting data is pivotal towards having a data analytics strategy, here is how you
can convert that data into actionable insights.

#1 Narrow down and measure only

what you need:
Do not try collecting every other data out there. Only concentrate on the ones that
will help you achieve your business objectives. Let’s say you run a B2B SaaS startup
that helps businesses create online forms. Here are some of the things that you
might want to know

Which channels provide the highest conversions?

What is the user journey of an average customer?
What are the different types of content they consume before they become
a customer?

09
#2 Segment your visitors:
By grouping your website visitors based on common attributes, you will be able to
understand about them more deeply. You can choose different segments of customers
and find out what motivates them.

#3 Present it visually:
Data in itself can be confusing. Converting data into information helps make
business decisions. But even that isn’t the most ideal format to consume. Presenting
information in visually appealing formats like graphs, pie charts, etc., helps you arrive
at a story.

#4 Integration of data sources:

When different data sources are integrated, it is easy to make better and faster
business decisions. With the help of big data solutions, traversing through millions of
data points will not be a problem at all. By mining all the data, it will help you
understand your customers better. Since the number of data points that have been
considered is high, you are in a better position to understand your customers.

10
What should be your plan
of action?
Once you have everything in place, this is when your action plan should be more
streamlined. Include key milestones, participants, responsibilities, etc., in your action
plan. Ensure that you measure the changes that happen by adding KPIs for factors
that will affect the performance because of your new data analytics strategy. Ensure
that you create a roadmap for all the work that has been done so far. Document from
where you were to the final place that you want to be. Before starting the design and
building of the data analytics system, define the feasibility and expected value that
each phase will provide. You also need to take the number of skilled employees
necessary to get the task done and the right resources that you need.

11
Conclusion:
A successful business analytics strategy means that you will be able to take
datadriven decisions. To develop an effective data analytics strategy, you need to
have the right set of tools as well as support from the leadership. A new analytics
approach represents a huge change and can be difficult because it has multi-pronged
mplications. With the right kind of analytics strategy, you can achieve all your
analytics goals and create a business that takes data-driven decisions.

If you would like to have a data strategy session with us, Zuci’s analytics experts will
be more than happy to help you out to show what you can do with your data.

12
About ZUCI
Zuci is a digital organization focused on the craft of building software
which we have perfected over the years. A perfect blend of design
thinking, engineering perfection, and customer-centricity in our DNA
has enabled us to help small, medium and large organizations with
superior digital solutions. Learn More.

www.zucisystems.com

[email protected]