Posted by Ajay Kelkar on Fri, May 28, 2010
Making Analytics sexy doesn’t make it easier to implement! And this is where the challenge lies in Analytics. Striking headlines make for easy copy but don’t do wonders for executing analytic intent within a corporation.
Unfortunately executing analytics is hard work and demands the coming together of business skills, advanced statistical knowledge and technology capabilities. For years there have been sexy headlines about a retailer who found that diapers and beer are purchased together by men on Fridays. Recently one can see this story about Why Visa Predicts Your Divorce?
Unfortunately the challenges faced at the implementation level are really about making your way through issues about company's structure, process, incentives & the really big one about “silo mentality”.
Making a great Analytics scorecard is possibly only about 35-40% of what is required –much more needs to be done in terms of change management and all the nitty gritty of wading through the implementation. The greatest analytics would not solve the problem of the sales channel continuing to sell a higher margin product! Even if analytics predicts that the next product more likely to be purchased is a different one-the sales channel would continue to sell the higher margin product. In such situation what is needed is the ability to be able to articulate the business case for analytics which involves having a voice in the decision making process of the corporation. Often Analytics teams may be structured as independent support functions and then they would not have the authority to seek such changes.
Key requirements to make Analytics work in my view are as follows:
1. Allow analytics to be both centralized & de centralized-it should not be seen as a function but rather as a necessary process to achieve more profitable results. Some companies who have “got it” tend to have had a visionary leader at the CEO level who drove this vision through-Gary Loveman at Harrah’s Casino is an example.
2. For the Analytics process to mature in any company –leadership must build a “evidence seeking” culture towards decision making. Like the old saying-“In God we trust , all else must bring me data”
Meanwhile the sexy headlines are fun to read, so enjoy!! http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-04-06/how-mastercard-predicts-divorce/full/
Posted by Ajay Kelkar on Mon, Apr 13, 2009
It is almost given today that if you as a marketer launch this big bang "CRM initiative, then you are likely to fail! More than half the companies who have implemented some form of CRM believe that the effort failed! Most companies have not paid enough attention to the "change management" that needs to accompany any major CRM program. Successful companies have reported that they spent between 3 to 5 times the CRM technology costs in "change management initiatives". Mc Kinsey has this interesting view that companies should view CRM as any other product or service ,only that it is targeted at internal customers. Like any other product or service it must have clearly defined value, be priced appropriately, advertised & provided with adequate after sales support. How do you effectively structure your company for CRM and how do you "failure proof" your organization -read an interesting take from Mc Kinsey Organizing for CRM