Google Retweets Article on Becoming a More Data-Driven Organization

Being data-driven can lead to unbiased, data-based decision-making. But...where do you start? Start here.
SIA Team
September 9, 2021

A couple of days ago, on September 7th, 2021, Google’s Analytics Twitter channel had a retweet about becoming a data-driven organization:

That tweet linked to an InfoTrust article by Maddie Cantrell, titled, How to Become a More Data-Driven Organization. In it, Cantrell offers 4 key suggestions on leading your team to utilize a more data-oriented approach to business. 

In this article, what I’d like to do is offer my thoughts on how I’d go about this. I’ll try to offer ideas that are different from–and complementary to–Cantrell’s. That way, by reading both articles, you’ll hopefully have an even better idea of how to go about this.

Go Deeper Than KPIs. Go to Your ‘North Star.’

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are great, and they’re actually the first suggestion in Cantrell’s article

But, I want you to go deeper. 

Think of your company’s mission/value statement, or raison d’être. 

Which data point(s) (measurable variable) is the closest to that value statement?

If it’s challenging to answer that question, that’s fine–it can take time. If you’d like to see examples of these ‘North Star’ variables, I’d like to refer you to an article titled, Defining Your North Star Metrics: Which Metrics Should Your Company Priorities Be Aligned Around?

Also, I wrote an article about this ‘North Star’ concept, titled, Do You Know Your ‘North Star’ Metric(s)? Apparently, Google Thinks You Should

Once you know your ‘North Star’ metric(s), you can begin rallying your team behind it. 

Have Your Team Ask Themselves How They Can Contribute to Your ‘North Star’ or KPIs

You don’t have to have all the answers, especially if your organization is large. If your key metrics can be positively or negatively affected by different groups in your organization, then ask each group to consider how they can positively contribute to your key metrics. 

For example, if you have phone-in customer support, maybe they can suggest that a live chat option be offered, which would give customers more options and may lead to better customer satisfaction. (That is, if you’ve established that customer satisfaction is a ‘North Star’ metric or key KPI for your organization.)

In another example where customer satisfaction is a key metric, let’s suppose that you run a web design agency. Maybe your webmasters can offer to adopt certain Page Experience practices that ultimately improve the field and lab performances of the sites you create. 

(This can actually be a key selling point for potential clients, and in turn, those clients will be offering better user experiences for their visitors.)

By utilizing the 2 suggestions I made above, as well as the 4 suggestions Cantrell makes in her article, you’ll have a good idea pertaining to how to make your organization more data-driven.

Source: Google Analytics Twitter channel