Analytics can seem like an intimidating topic for many business owners with a plethora of coding languages, complex software, and an unmatched need for communication skills. But is understanding analytics as daunting as it seems? Can it be applied to your everyday life as a business owner to make reaching benchmarks easier to understand and attain? 6° Media sat down with Blake Von and Greg Gutkowski to ask the critical questions that business owners may not think to ask and uncovered tips and hints that will help them transform the way they do business.
Blake got his start in analytics behind the counter of a coffee shop - as a barista at Starbucks. When the world shut down in 2020, he decided it was the perfect time to focus on his passion for Microsoft Excel.
Blake attended an analytics Bootcamp with Thinkful to jumpstart his career in the field. Once enrolled, he knew he’d found his passion in the growing field of analytics. After completing the Bootcamp, Blake launched a job search and landed his position at Tinuiti, the largest independent performance marketing firm across Streaming TV and the Triopoly of Google, Facebook, and Amazon.
Blake attributes his exceptional growth in the field to his consulting work with 6° and his full-time employment with Tinuiti. As a young, bright professional in the world of analytics, Blake shared key information on what he does, why analytics is important, and how analytics can be implemented to make an immediate impact on a business.
“A good analyst will never set a spreadsheet in front of a client.”
When we asked Blake what a normal day consisted of, he eagerly stated, “Reporting, lots of reporting." His job as a data analyst, simply put, is being a translator between the data and his client. Blake can take an abundance of raw data, simplify it down to what is necessary, and present it in a way that makes sense to the client. This comprehensive presentation can be either a good or not so-optimal representation of how a current campaign is going.
“Impressions do not always mean success.”
We asked Blake how he would present data to his clients when the numbers were not what the company hoped they would be. And how he would advise the company to adapt its strategy to translate into success. His reply was,
“Data and analytics are living entities. They change constantly. Strategy adaptation is an important part of forecasting. Changing strategy can maximize profits."
He goes on to explain,
"When analyzing data and diving deep into the analytics of a campaign, it can be easy to assume that reaching more people results in increased sales. That is not always the case.
As a company, being able to cross-analyze sales information with marketing data is paramount to ensuring proper communication and allocation of time and resources.
Having siloed information between these two departments can be detrimental to a company."
Greg Gutkowski: Best-selling Author & Professor
Greg Gutkowski is a best-selling author with over 30 years of marketing and data analytics experience. He currently teaches marketing analytics at the University of North Florida and is the principal of the marketing analytical consulting firm 3Clicks.
Mr. Gutkowski specializes in analytics, streamlining operations for organizations, and increasing overall customer lifetime value. With a resume as extensive and impressive as his, the 6° team was excited to sit down and ask him to share with us some advice for current business owners.
“The biggest issue I see in digital marketing is the impression analysis is rarely combined with the profitability analysis.”
After asking Mr. Gutkowski about the most common mistakes that he sees business owners make regarding their sales and marketing teams, he had plenty of innovative ideas to maintain that communication to maximize profitability. One of which entailed asking the right questions. It’s important to ensure that the right resources are focused in the right place.
If a company is spending an abundant amount of time on one specific social media campaign or site, is the time spent paying off?
Would it be more beneficial to allocate time and resources elsewhere? This is where the communication between the sales and marketing teams, as well as the proper organization and bookkeeping of this data, is vital to maintaining a smooth operation.
“Keeping organized, clean data that is easily accessible can do wonders for your business.”
What is organized, clean data? Clean data is free from incorrect, outdated, or incomplete information from a specific data set.
This could mean that some of the data that has been collected in the past may no longer apply to the campaign and can be eliminated. Having all the data well managed and organized allows each part of the business to work in unison by using the same information that everyone knows is relevant to the current business plan.
“Communication, communication, communication.”
“Communication is the single most important thing across the company,” said Mr. Gutkowski. He thinks it is the main thing that business owners with a small marketing budget can change immediately.
Is this the most tech-savvy way to streamline operations and analytics? Perhaps not, but it is by far the most efficient and impactful.
Having good communication within the organization can eliminate problems that a company did not know existed regarding misinformed decision-making. If a company can have clear and concise communication between departments, especially between sales and marketing, that organization can expect to see a drastic positive change across all departments. They can also anticipate higher quality ventures and more targeted marketing campaigns based on information shared by the sales team.
These tips can transform the way your company does business. Communication between departments, understanding the difference between impressions, and conversions, and keeping clean, organized data are game-changers when it comes to the efficiency and productivity of your business.
Sitting down with professionals in such differing timelines in their careers in data analytics, it was engaging to hear how much impact analytics and marketing have come to have on the business world.
About 6° Media
If you need help with defining your goals or understanding the story that your analytics are trying to tell you, 6° Media can help you continue growing in this crazy digital world. If you want to increase brand awareness and increase growth exponentially, contact our team.