In today’s world, data is everywhere. Most likely, part of your job is to report on that data. Your boss or your client wants to quantify how much work is being done, track the progress of a project or monitor usage of tools and websites. Every month, week or even day, you pull the numbers, put them in a chart and then send it on. If you’re lucky, you’ll get an email back with a “thanks” – just to let you know they received your email.
If this sounds like how your typical data reporting goes, it’s time to assess what other value you can provide beyond the numbers or superficial observations. Although data can be found all around us, it’s leveraging that data to make smart marketing decisions that makes it useful. Let’s take a look at how facts can be used to find valuable insights – insights that lead to new marketing strategies and decisions.
Fact: a true statement or piece of information
Insight: a deep and intuitive understanding
So you have all these numbers that translate into facts, and now it’s time to pull out the actionable consumer insights from the data.
Start with what your data is telling you. Is there a trend? Are there any abnormal spikes or surprising results? With the facts identified about the data, think about the ‘why.’ Finding the reason behind the data leads to the insight.
Here’s how one company used its data to form insights that led to a total makeover of the way it does business.
Hinge Let’s Be Real Campaign
The Facts: Hinge discovered that 81% of its users had never found a long-term relationship on ANY swiping app. Only 1 in 500 swipes on Hinge turned into phone numbers exchanged. 54% of singles on Hinge reported feeling lonely after swiping on apps. 1
The Insight: Dating apps centered around a swiping format don’t result in established long-term relationships, and users are focused more on on the game-like appeal of “swiping” than on finding a partner.
Hinge leveraged this insight and completely revamped their app. They changed from a swiping format to a scrolling one and required users to respond to writing prompts to better portray personality types. Hinge now uses the tagline “Designed to be Deleted” to advertise that the app is made for people looking for a relationship that will get them off dating apps for good.
TIPS: Here are a few things to consider if you’re struggling to find any useful insights in your data.
- Lack of any new trends in your data can be an insight in itself. Complete an audit of anything your client may have done recently that should have had an impact on your data. That may tell you that a recent marketing push didn’t achieve the expected results, or that a plan needs to be placed into action to increase sales or usage.
- You may need additional or different data. Are there holes in your reports? Is there something you’re not currently tracking that you could be? Look for new ways to track, obtain and report on sales and usage to switch things up and find new insights.
- Start with the insight you are hoping to find, and then figure out how you can get there. Similar to setting a goal and steps to reach it, establish a realistic insight and figure out what information you will need to support it. You may find what you were looking for, or you may be surprised at what you actually discover. Either way, you now have a new insight to share.
Source
- Hinge: The Dating Apocalypse, 2017
