As you could read it last week in Revival of a digital non-native, I am now more qualified than ever in Digital Analytics, ready to write the first pages of my professional new start.
It has been very nice to receive a high number of positive feedback and to state the concrete interest my last post has aroused. As announced last week, I shall now elaborate what I am at. This post defines the core business of Data Elicitation. Further ones (in a series of 3) will give much more details about specific contributions closely linked with my own proficiency, and answering concerns expressed by marketers, namely through this study by StrongView (2014 Marketing Survey). Key areas are:
1. Data patterning
The original sin of Big Data is its formlessness. So as to be able to use these data, and get the best out of them, one must organize and structure them first. This is what patterning is about.
Or course, your engineers will claim they have built the best database ever, and that it should answer any question you have. This may be true. Or not. Actually, many databases are built under technical constraints, with very little regard to usage and user experience, let alone to marketing and strategy needs. My own experience testifies that an efficient use of data is first built upon a correct understanding of the client requests, i.e. that the initial step is not drawing the plan, but thinking about how it would best fit its goal. This always has been a key driver of my action, especially when building up various new services in the marketing information business. I am a resolute data patterner.
2. Data enrichment
Your data are rich, especially if you can use them easily thanks to an appropriate patterning. But they certainly can be richer. Much richer. And most certainly not at high costs. This is what enrichment is all about.
You may have tons of data, and still this may not fit your purposes. Or on the contrary have small databases, but with a very high (and maybe hidden) value. And enriching is not only adding external information, it is also deriving, translating, cross-checking existing sources. Market Research companies used to name this data enrichment process “coding the dictionary”, a phrase showing the vastness and complexity of this process. Getting the relevance out of the data is definitely a precious skill, and one of my own key proficiencies.
3. Data analytics
Now, your data are accessible and usable. Fine. And what next? Getting the best out of your data is not always easy, as the meaning may either be blurred or the solution to the problem lost as a needle in a haystack. This is what analytics are about.
And once your data are fit for use, you need to find the proper tactics and strategy to reach your goal, i.e. get them to talk and find the solution to your issues or validate your assumptions. This requires a fair analytic technique, but also a good flair for identifying where the gems are hidden… In this respect, as a seasoned market research expert with a solid digital background, I shall help you identify where to dig to get the best out of your data.
So in the end, this whole process of patterning, enriching and analyzing data may be summarized under one single word: elicitation. I have chosen Data Elicitation as an umbrella designation for running all these processes and bringing them together as a service.
On a practical level, my door remains open to any CEO who would require my exclusive working force to set up their data marketing corporate strategy (e.g. hire me). Still, the current market conditions, notably in France, imply that flexibility is key, especially in the light of project-driven action. This is why I offer my (invaluable) resource also as a contractor. So? Drown in data? Or searching them desperately? And in need of elicitation? Let us keep in touch and let 2014 be the year for your ultimate data elicitation!
Data Elicitation 