Tag Archives: Data collection

October 7, 2015 · 9:09 am

Blinded By The Light

Yesterday I wrote about using data as a flashlight. There is, of course, a problem inherent in flashlights that is also true about data. If you look at a flashlight the wrong way, you become temporarily blinded. Let someone shine one into your eyes in a dark room and you’ll understand. Data can be blinding too.  

For example, it’s great to have big ears and to listen carefully to what is transpiring with respect to your company or brand in the social sphere. The problem is that we all know those with the loudest mouths tend to be the least satisfied. Some are just chronic complainers; others are trying to get something for nothing. Taking their buzz as gospel can drive you insane as well as point you in the wrong direction. Obviously they can’t be ignored, but that’s a beam of light we need to be sure is aiming in the right direction.

Ratings and reviews are other sources of excellent information, but be sure that as you’re researching (both those of your own brand and those of your competitors) that you’re not falling prey to fake information. There are companies that hire scammers to write them, as this piece explains in detail.  Place what’s out there publicly in the context of your own customer service data and support emails.  Are there large differences?  Complaints that are never made privately but seem to be a steady drumbeat publicly?

I like this quote:

The paradigm has historically been to do some qualitative studies to develop hypotheses for testing, then validate and measure through quantitative studies. The only difference now is that, in addition to intimate panel-based research, we also have the ability to get much more input from a panel of millions.

So as you’re using those million beams of light, don’t forget context and source.  Make your data set as comprehensive as possible before drawing conclusions.  Failing to do so means blindness rather than illumination.

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October 6, 2015 · 12:13 pm

The Flashlight You Need

No one likes to wander around in the dark, tripping over furniture and the odd, misplaced shoe.  It’s why every phone comes with a flashlight app, right? On that note, I’ve ranted a number of times in this space about the need for every business to use a flashlight – the need to measure. “Measure what?” you ask? Like any good consultant, I’ll tell you that there is no one right answer to that. I can, however, tell you how to go about figuring it out.  

It’s more than answering “what’s important.” Obviously, growing revenue and profit is the standard answer. It’s the next layer – what makes those things happen – where we begin to figure out our Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s). I like to start with current customers. How many of them are we retaining? What’s our churn rate? How do you reduce the attrition rate, and what percentage of the customers that have left have we contacted? What are their reasons for leaving? Among the people who stay, what’s their purchase frequency and average order value? Are those numbers growing?

Then maybe we need to fill up the bucket some more. How do we attract new customers? What are our conversion rates on whatever marketing we’re doing? What channels are performing, and which are performing better than others? What’s our ROI on marketing spend? How many prospects are we turning into leads? How many of those are we converting?

Finally, there are some KPI’s that are like chicken soup: they might not help, but they can’t hurt. What is our level of social engagement? Is our brand and/or content being shared? What are our general awareness levels? What is our brand image vs. those of our competitors?

You probably have every one of the pieces of data I mentioned above.  You have a lot more too, although it’s imperative to remember that if it’s not actionable it’s probably not worth bothering about.  Good questions and the data that answer them are the flashlights that help your business find its way in the dark.  Without them, it’s way too easy to get lost.

Is that helpful?

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September 28, 2015 · 11:28 am

AV Gee Whiz…

If you own a Windows computer, chances are you’ve installed some sort of anti-virus program.  At least I hope you have.  One of the more popular programs of this sort is AVG Anti-virus.  I have it on my old Windows machine and I’ve installed it on my parents’ laptop.  AVG recently updated their privacy policy and it’s caused a bit of a fracas.  It also raises some important issues for the rest of us. 

Let me say at the outset that the manner in which AVG presents their new policy should be a model for the rest of us.  You can (and should) read it here.  It is clear, written in plain language that doesn’t require the reader to be either a lawyer or a technical person. Not only do they explain what data they are collecting but also why they are collecting it.  I bet you can’t find another privacy policy that does so as well as this one does.

So what has happened as a result of AVG trying to be good corporate citizens?  They are getting reamed.  There have been many negative articles and thousands of negative posts written (this thread on reddit is particularly nasty).  You see, AVG made one large change in the policy, which is that it now involves keeping the browsing history of its users and selling the data to third parties.  They actually were collecting most of this data before except there was no mention of selling it to anyone for commercial purposes.

The PC World piece on the controversy summed it up nicely:

AVG’s new policy illustrates exactly why companies tend to drown their data collection practices in legalese. There’s no penalty for doing so, and being transparent only invites more outrage. In that sense, AVG at least deserves credit for helping users make informed decisions. Still, the idea of an anti-virus program tracking and monetizing your browsing history is unnerving, and if anything AVG ought to clarify that point further as it finalizes its new privacy policy.

So I’m at a loss here.  Is it a better idea to confuse your customers?  Is it good practice to be a little less transparent?  I don’t think either of those are true.  Are we all still so naive that we believe all the tracking information companies gather about our every move (and this is true about your mobile device usage too!) is just for their own information so that they can make our user experiences better?  Sure, AVG makes it possible to opt out of some of this, but do we really think most people will read the new policy and do so?

I guess the real question becomes is honesty still the best policy?  What’s your take?

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