Author: Steve Lock
A great data hire can unlock ROI—if you know what to look for. Especially for businesses with tight budgets and stretched internal resources, a revenue-focused data analytics consultant can be worth their weight in gold.
Here’s what the best data consultants bring to the table, and how to get the most out of the partnership:
1. Structure & Framework
It’s common for data and reporting to become a ‘Frankenstein’ within businesses that lack qualified data management expertise, or those who scaled quickly, resulting in a tangle of systems and reporting structures that compromise data credibility and accessibility. An advanced Data Consultant will work with your internal team to resolve the clutter by installing a clear structure and framework for improving, modernizing and operationalizing data functions within your organization.
PRO TIP: If you’re interviewing a Data Consultant and they aren’t expressing a laser focus on improving revenue, proceed with caution.
2. Audits & Assessments
Many businesses skip past thorough auditing processes, only to realize months into a project that they’ve been solving the wrong problems or missing critical opportunities. Talk about sunk costs…
Not investing appropriately in audits can be majorly detrimental because otherwise how can you be sure you’re prioritizing working on the right things? Good data work compounds. For example, improving systems, data models and data collection, consistently unlocks ROI—often daily, for years to come.
3. Strategic Technology Selections
When optimizing your data stack, the #1 thing to ensure is that your team remains as technology-agnostic as possible. Researching systems that have the best ecosystems of supported connectors and integrations can save a world of pain later on. Partnering with an expert Data Consultant who’s a power user of all the best tools, and knows the pros and cons of each, will help to futureproof the decisions you make in this area.
4. Implementation Expertise
Successful data implementations don’t look the same for all companies. For example, one business might require a more senior or strategic resource, and another may need someone to roll up their sleeves and be very executional.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that Data Consultants who aren’t available (or skilled enough) to blend strategic guidance with hands-on support, will likely require you to allocate additional investments to be made for implementation.
Here’s a top ten list of the key use cases and outcomes you should expect to see from working with an expert data consultant:
- Auditing and assessments
- Measurement framework
- Designing technology stacks and implementing improvements
- Implementing solid operational frameworks
- Designing and optimizing processes
- Delivering reporting and dashboards (it’s hard to improve what you can’t measure!)
- Surfacing key insights and opportunities
- Competitor analysis
- Advanced analytics such as forecasting, building data pipelines and using machine learning/AI
- Domain-specific support such as data privacy, web analytics or expertise from working in specific industries
In Conclusion
The range of business benefits from a good data analytics consultant is vast. Capitalize on those opportunities by arming your team with a highly strategic approach to ensure you get the best out of your engagements.
Ready for an Analytics deep dive before making your next data investment? Make sure you don’t miss these 4 Myths About Customer Data Platforms (CDPs).
