In the current digital age, understanding and interpreting data to make informed business decisions may seem straight forward, but is it? What is data and how does that have any useful meaning to a business.
Contrary to popular beliefs, understanding an interpreting data without bias is far important in this digital age. It is very crucial that every data analyst avoid referring to past experiences and expectations when processing data and providing insights.
Let’s take a deep dive into understanding what data is. Data can be defined as individual pieces of factual information recorded and analysed for the purpose of making a decision. While statistics is a process of collecting and analysing numerical data in large quantities. Now how did we confuse the two for the same thing? Well, statistics are the result of data analysis, it is the interpretation and representation.
The nature and the goal of data interpretation will vary from business to business, therefore do not think the way in which a particular business collects and interprets its data will be the same as your business. However, interpreting data will assist you to manipulate, categorize and summarize information to answer particular questions or draw conclusions on your decisions. Not only that but you will also be able to identify the problems and make improvements to existing ideas.
Statistics is the science of learning from data, which means that all the data collected from your research whether qualitative or quantitative will then be used in the process of statistics. This is the most crucial process as it is how we make new discoveries, make predictions, and final decisions based on data.
Let’s look at a practical example of a well-known brand that strives on research, particularly market research to become the most successful brand they are today. Starting with Starbucks without the data they have collected from their customer feedback and in-store product testing, they would have not been able present statistics on what is working for them and what is not working. They would have not been able to know which products are doing well and which products need to be off their offering list from just the data collected from the in-store product testing.
All brands have their own process for collecting data and reasons why they need the statistics, however, most brand’s primary goals are:
- Each and every brand wants to obtain customer satisfaction and expectations. To keep your customers happy and meet their expectations you need to always keep up with knowing what they want and what they do not what. Understanding your data and statistics will help you draw up conclusions on what is keeping your customers happy and what isn’t
- All brands what to eliminate their highest competitors, they consistently keep collecting data on what their competitors are doing and what their competitors think to get statistics on what to do next. Understanding their data and statistics helps them stay on top of the game and always be one step ahead, not only that but they can fix mistakes they have made.
Well to conclude that always remember that doing your marketing without data is like driving blindfolded,
