Top 5 Focus Points: Getting Your Data Ready for Insights

Depending on our mood, we compare data to lots of things: highly processed foods, jungles, mountains, and even oil. Like crude oil, for instance, data in its raw form is of limited value. To extract insights that support smart decisions, your data needs to be clean, organized, and analysis-ready. Here are five important things you can focus on to get your data primed*:

(*Yes, we know some of this is obvious: that doesn’t make it any less important or less difficult!)

1. Data Quality and Cleansing The foundation of meaningful insights is accurate data. Invest time in identifying and correcting errors, duplicates, inconsistencies, and missing values. Have recent acquisitions made part numbers mismatched? Inaccurate data can lead to misleading conclusions. Tools like OpenRefine or Talend, and frameworks like data profiling and validation rules, can help you streamline this process.

2. Data Integration Your data likely resides in multiple systems: CRM platforms, social media analytics, email marketing tools, ERP, EAM, and more. To achieve a unified view, it's crucial to consolidate these disparate data sources. Use ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes or data warehouses like Snowflake or BigQuery to centralize your data and enable holistic analysis.

Almost always, these projects are difficult and require serious planning and resource availability. Start modestly, build on success.

3. Metadata Management Metadata provides context, helping users understand where the data comes from, how it's structured, and how it's meant to be used. Effective metadata management facilitates data discovery, improves governance, and enhances collaboration across teams. Implement a data catalog or metadata repository to document and manage this information.

4. Data Governance and Compliance Establishing clear governance ensures data integrity, security, and compliance with regulations like GDPR or CCPA. Define roles and responsibilities, access controls, and usage policies. A strong governance framework not only protects your organization but also builds trust in the data.

5. Clear Business Objectives Before diving into analysis, clarify what questions you want your data to answer. Whether you're analyzing GP, optimizing campaign performance or forecasting sales, aligning your data strategy with specific business objectives ensures that your insights are actionable and relevant. Get senior leaders on the same page and build your next phase(s) in strategic steps.

Conclusion Turning raw data into an asset for your future requires commitment and an understanding that the work can get tough. Getting data ready can often be 80% of the job. Commit to these steps, defined in your organization’s way, and make resources available – by this we mean mainly talented, committed people who know your business. If you don’t have enough internal resources, make sure your consultants are teaching you to fish! And remember: smart data preparation is a prerequisite for smart decision-making.