Introduction
I’ve spent my career with one foot in customer experience and the other in behavioural analytics. Whether consulting, leading analysts, or guiding developers on implementation best practice, my approach is simple: start with the customer, serve the business.
I’ve finally launched a site to share practical ways to connect data and CX. Too often we see two extremes: an obsession with dashboards without context, or beautiful experience work that never turns into measurable, repeatable outcomes. This space aims to change that.
Two truths to hold at once
Data tells you what is happening – journey abandonment, digital engagement, traffic volumes and campaign performance.
Knowledge explains why – when you team up a skilled data analyst, an passionate Experience Designer and a driven Product Owner, you uncover the drivers behind what is happening with confidence and clarity to form hypotheses.
A simple Operating Model
While an oversimplification, these are a handful of key steps in any Analytics Operating Model that have never failed me.
Define the driver.
In a single sentence: what is the customer trying to do and what are the business drivers?
Map the Journey.
Identify critical decision points, key events and likely failure models.
Define success.
One north-start metrics plus 2-3 supporting KPIs with super-clear definitions and data-sources.
Form hypotheses, not conclusions.
Let the data tell the story, check sample sizes and data quality, keep an eye out for biases.
Close the loop.
Test, measure, implement and iterate – pace is key, institutionalise the learning.
Benefits
Prioritise with confidence.
Opinions are overruled by facts. Rank by impact on the Customer and Business value.
Move faster with reduced risk.
Quantified targets based on clear hypotheses reduces rework and ensures all teams are aligned with purpose.
Build value.
Experimentation and learnings become assets, reuse and enable continuous improvement.
First steps
Start with Journey optimisation – User your existing Data to identify the one with the highest volume and highest friction – this is your priority opportunity.
Don’t forget to factor in effort cost. Certain influencers such as length of Journey, complexity and change effort can influence the scale or scope of change required, and may make what you thought was a priority opportunity not viable.
There’s more…
In further posts I’ll go into more detail on process, optimisation and insights and the Data and Customer Experience relationship.
If you’re a Customer Experience or Data leader, drowning in data or struggling to connect the numbers to human outcomes, this space is for you and I welcome collaboration to bridge gaps in these two fundamentally critical pillars for Business success.