Our founder and CEO, Zach Gemignani, went on the road recently to speak to a group of Voice of the Customer (VOC) professionals and customer intelligence experts at the Allegiance Engage Summit in Park City, Utah. (Thanks for taking one for the team, Zach.) Zach's overall objective was to demonstrate how attendees could gain clear, actionable insights from consumer data. I'm told that Zach delivered his message about as well as he crafted the data visualizations he used to build it. In fact, it is rumored that Zach was so engaging that he was compared to none other than Guy Kawasaki, who was also speaking at the Summit. (Fellow Juicers made mention of head room issues following that comment.)
Allegiance Radio will be airing a podcast of an interview with Zach from the Engage Summit on June 7 at 3:30 p.m. EDT on www.blogtalkradio.com, Join via VoIP, chat or via phone at (619) 996-1642. www.blogtalkradio/allegiance/2011/06/07/allegiance-summit-an-interview-with-juice-analytics
You can go to their website anytime after that to review the interview in its entirety. Following the podcast, we will post a copy of the interview here on our website, as well.
Following is a summary of key content from Zach's presentation along with resources that may inspire you to get to know your consumer data better to gain insights to move your business forward. If you have questions or comments, feel free to send them our way.
Know Your Audience
Consider and understand the context of your audience. "Actionable" has as much to do with the recipient as the information. Is it something they have the power or the influence on which to act?
Know Your Tools
Whatever your tool is, it's worth your while to get good at it. This saves you time and frustration.
Choose the Right Data
The gourmet values data quality - the right metrics, the right context, presented effectively. The gourmand, on the other hand, is more interested in quantity. A gourmand believes that more is better, in part because they aren't sure what they'll do with the data in the first place. (See the entire "Data Gourmet" blog at www.juiceanalytics.com/writing/being-a-data-gourmet/
Focusing on just the right data is a concept perhaps best summarized by Amanda Cox. "Data isn't like your kids. You don't have to pretend to love them equally." - Amanda Cox, New York Times
Choosing the Right Chart
So, how do you choose the right chart? This is the challenge. Work by taking the most important attributes of your data (based on the question you want to answer) -- mapping to the visual elements that most effectively convey that information.
Resources include www.chartchooser.com, www.extremepresentation.com/design/charts and www.juiceanalytics.com/writing/chart-selection-art-and-science/
Tell a Story
You have choices about how data is presented. Make your choices deliberately. Consider your audience, their needs and the information. Then tell a story that clearly resonates with them and compels them -- inspires them -- into action.