Why being data driven is not great for profits.
Two things about analyzing data, it's past information, and it doesn't calculate the nuances of human behaviour. As Rory Sutherland calls data,"woefully unrepresentative, incomplete and biased because the really important things you can't quantify. Instead of saying, "What data do we have?" Rather say,"What might be helpful to know that you don't know and is there a way in finding it?"
Yes, there are ways in finding it, and they would include increased customer interactions, rather than solely relying on a computer print out. Any efficient marketing consultant knows that going straight to the source (your customer) with the right questions is the best way to evaluate your product's success.
Kanye's $20 merch launch is a great example of this, he created a line of merchandise and sold everything at the same price. The data from the sales, such as how quickly an item sold out, or what were the most popular sizes, only tells half the story. If there was a survey sent to the consumers, or abandoned carts, asking them why they made their purchases, or didn't, would be help fill in the blanks in this instance of consumer behaviour.
Typical data driven people would say that if the hoodies sold out the quickest, then at the next launch, triple the amount of hoodies. But that's not the full picture, maybe people bought the hoodies, not because they liked them, but because they were the best value. Maybe they bought them because it was winter and it was a good deal.
You can have all the data in the world, but if you don't have someone on your team that is asking the right questions, then do you really have a workable marketing strategy? Contact us if you want to start getting the right questions asked, we have a penchant for proving data driven people wrong and ensuring your data is accurate.
