Enhancing insight discovery by balancing the focus of analytics between strategic and tactical levels

Abstract

Tim Cooperhas a Masters degree in data analysis and has analysis experience from more than half a dozen industries in as many countries. His three years as an international communication manager at Novo Nordisk based in Denmark, gave him great experience with strategy and communications. This complements his extensive analysis experience with companies like Avis, Vodafone, VNU, CMT (now Claritas), the data-driven agency DBT (primarily working with Cyanamid across Europe), eBay and, now at Merck Sharp & Dohme Australia.Abstract An insight at a strategic level can change an industry, but most marketers/analysts are more micro-focused; insights at a tactical level are more typical and incremental advantages over competitors are the norm. Since the only real source of competitive advantage is learning faster than competitors and then implementing the learnings, deciding where to focus is crucial. The dominantly micro approach considerably limits how companies view the benefits of data and, thus, how it is used -in turn limiting how companies invest in data. When developing and supporting corporate strategy, many organisations do not realise the full potential of customer databases, nor are they integrated with other sources, such as market research or competitor intelligence.In this paper, 'insight' and 'strategy' are defined and the importance of balancing the analysis effort appropriately between tactical and strategic levels demonstrated. Key themes outlined for insight generation also include data source integration, open and constant dialogue between analysts and senior management plus some approaches and barriers to insight generation.

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