In today’s business world with big talk about Big Data, more and more companies are looking into data science and advanced analytics to improve customer relationships, increase marketing impact, and enhance products and services. It’s an exciting new development as data science offers an unprecedented opportunity for businesses gain insights to operate more efficiently and optimize customer experience.
But how can companies drive the most effective and profitable results from their data-focused efforts? Incorporating a Chief Data Officer (CDO) into the organization is a smart approach to help ensure actionable insights make it to the top for better executive decisions.
How to make the most of your new CDO
Giving Data a Seat in the Boardroom, a recent article by 1–to–1 Magazine highlighted the importance of capturing key insights from oceans of data and putting it to work effectively. As the article notes, many companies are challenged by having departmental silos that result in losing valuable time and resources that could otherwise be used more efficiently.
Beyond the Arc’s CEO, Steven Ramirez offered a solution to bridge those silos and synchronize lines of business to work toward a common goal: “You need a person who has visibility into data [that resides in different divisions] who can ask the right questions and share the insights to inform future decisions.” It’s important to distinguish the CDO role as more than simply an IT function.
As Ramirez notes, “[The CDO] is a data scientist, an interrogator of data,” – not simply a gatekeeper. The CDO should be responsible for understanding (and championing) ways to effectively leverage data for business improvements – and a key factor is having a holistic implementation that aligns analytics strategies and insights across all business units for more impactful, data-driven decision making.
Bringing the customer into the boardroom
Having a data-focused role in a company’s C-suite can increase an organization’s potential to differentiate their brand. Ramirez notes it’s an important opportunity to “bring the customer into the boardroom,” as the CDO can deliver insights that essentially put the customer face to face with the executive team. Those insights can help lines of business make meaningful improvements that matter most to customers, address unmet needs, and inform ways to exceed expectations. Strategies such as using social media text analytics to uncover emerging issues, or predictive analytics to boost marketing ROI are a just few ways businesses can truly unlock the power of their data.
To learn more about raising the level of your data science efforts, read the full article from 1–to–1 Magazine >