Fancy Data – Huh!

I almost spat out the water I was drinking then!

It’s not like I heard such a statement for the first time in my professional life, but this time, it was highly unexpected, and unfortunate.

Just hold this thought for now, and let me set the context for you first.

One of the prospects that we were discussing our solution with, had a severe business issue. But sometimes when you, as a business leader in your industry, build a product with so much love, that that love makes you go blind about the problems that your baby (your product) has. Your baby is the best in the world. It is created to solve the industry’s most pressing problems. You just don’t have any customers!

The reasons a business doesn’t have any or declining number of customers could broadly be divided into three categories –

1. The product is bad – In this case, you have to first accept that your baby has issues. You need to identify the issues and fix them so that your customers can use the product and enjoy it. Find out why these people are coming and disappearing into thin air! And, nail your product based on that study.
2. The audience is bad – Either you’ve built your product for the people who don’t care about their problems, or they don’t care about the benefits your product offers them. Either narrow down your audience, nurture them or blame the failure on them.
3. The marketing is bad – Your product is great, and you’ve built it for the right people who need this. But, you are not positioning your product as an important solution that will make your customers’ lives easy.

Coming back to this true story –

With every client, even before going into the Strategy and Implementation phase, we first have a light discussion on how we’ll approach, and listen to their minds simultaneously. So we were having that. After we laid out everything, this is what we were shocked to hear –

“Let’s keep all fancy data stuff and strategy for later. For now, let’s look at the emails and landing pages that you’ll build.”

Slashed away all the strategies and insights discussed, with one sentence. Just one!

I mean, at least don’t call data the fancy stuff!

Don’t Call Data The Fancy Stuff.

Data is NOT the “fancy stuff”.

Data and Strategy are what will guide you to bring you out of this mess.

Data and Strategy will not only create a path for your new customers, but they will also help your existing and old customers stick with you through thick and thin.

Data is what will lead the way.

Numbers and insights are together the power bundle that will transform your business if used correctly.

I learnt something from that interaction, and that I feel, should be heard.

You’ve heard this saying before –

“God helps those who help themselves.”

Not that we are gods or something, but we can help only those companies who really are open to receiving help. In short – those who “let” us help them.

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Originally published on my personal Blog.

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