Setting objectives is the most crucial step for any organization, company, or group in data analytics. Overall, you want your organization to create a positive impact, increasing sales or expanding services. 

No matter what your purpose is, it needs to be measurable depending on your company’s goal. They must always align with your company’s strategy.

Terms to Remember When Setting Objectives

Sometimes, the words objective and goals are used interchangeably. However, it’s not always how it is in marketing. 

Objective and goals have two different meanings. The goal of a campaign in data analytics is any action that the user performs on the website. It could be a specific number of orders, getting 500 followers, or getting a certain number of views. 

Meanwhile, the objective of a website answers what you wish to achieve. It can be as broad as increasing sales or growing brand awareness. Objectives are the basis for your goals. 

Another term you’ll encounter in data analytics is key performance indicators (KPIs). The KPIs are the metrics or values you utilize in deciding whether you are meeting your objectives. You can analyze various metrics, and some might be more valuable than others.

If the objective is to promote traffic to the website, your KPI is the number of website visitors. It can also be how long your users stay on the site or the percentage of new visitors. 

The last term to keep in mind is your target. Targets are the actual numbers that your KPIs should attain. The only way to achieve your aims and goals will be to use this approach of thinking.

For example, you might need 100 new followers this January to ensure that your brand’s goal of gaining visibility is attained. If your new followers only reached 86, it means you need to improve the campaign. 

How to Achieve Your Objectives

You can’t achieve your objective in one go. Even if you have one main objective, you still need to break the project into various steps called micro-conversions or events. 

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Can you conduct data analytics within these events? Yes! It’s called funnel or path analysis. This analysis is essential to help you understand the reasons for conversion failures.  

The primary goal, for example, on your hotel website is for people to book. You want them to have a paid reservation using their card. 

Event 1 could be performing a search. The KPI here is the number of searches done within your site. 

Then, event 2 can tackle people who check the prices for your hotel. Event 3 is about selecting the room and checking out. Lastly, Event 2 is about inputting their details and confirming the booking. 

Once data is ready for analysis, analysts should use charts, graphs, and spreadsheets to investigate data. They use these tools to analyze from several perspectives and statistical methods. 

Some data experts conclude the analytical process through a study report. They explain their results and describe how they came up with them. One method includes drawing from various sources to evaluate the details.  

For instance, a customer might want to understand how to market their service conveniently. The data analyst should search for sales progress and movements in other fields. Then, they will start launching a report based on what they learned.

How to Report Results

An essential feature of any data analyst’s work is reporting the results. They must explain that the model must cause a change within the business’ decision-making process and workflow. 

Make sure to report the areas which they value the most. For example, they might want to know which products sell the most. Or they may also want to know which products get bought more than once by a customer. The organization’s financial department may want to know which clients are credit risks.

Then, make sure that you connect the objectives above to the data you will report. To make this possible, the data analysts should have interviewed the company and talked about the precise meaning of terms they will use for data analytics. 

Let them know that data analytics doesn’t only mean inputting all data and letting the computer do its job. Think about this. Can lawyers win a case without talking to their clients?

If you do not come up with the right objective to agree on, your data analytics report will be put to waste. As always, a model that does not consider the business will not provide the best results. 

Most Important Tip for Data Analytics Objectives

One of the finest tips you should observe is to keep it within your area of control. Do not set external goals like getting a promotion or having another company approve your deal. Instead, set internal goals. 

An excellent internal goal would be to complete two competitions this week in terms of technical goals. Meanwhile, an external goal is to become a grandmaster.

The two goals are different since one is more measurable, while the other may go beyond one’s control. Becoming a grandmaster also depends on the opponent’s skills and other factors. 

A bonus tip is to keep it time-based. Once you know what you want to attain, decide when the company should attain such goals or objectives. 

Data Analytics Roles

Data analytics should not just inform and serve an individual. It must involve several stakeholders with aligned goals. In data analytics, several roles make objective-setting possible.

Analytics Consumers

In data analytics, the analytics consumers work to implement the results. These are the members responsible for concluding the analytical work. 

Analytics Producers

These are the people who create support systems regarding decisions. They ensure that the analytics techniques are at their best for decision-making.

Analytics Champions

These are the leaders who sponsor the campaign. They lead those who will directly benefit from the analysis of data. 

Analytics Enablers

These are the data stewards, I.T, and people involve with the graphical user interface. Analytics enablers also include anyone who provides support in data analytics.

© Image credits to Luis Quintero

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