Associations collect massive amounts of data from members, participants, and customers — and have been for years. Turning this data into actionable information can be a real challenge, but with the right strategy, processes, and tools, you can improve engagement and generate growth.
Does your association speak data?
How many people in your organisation understand data? With the growing trend of digital business models, everyone should. Only those with a data-literacy mindset will have the sense of ownership and understanding along with the right set of skills to best leverage the power of your data.
Making better use of data collection
Data is coming to you from multiple sources and technology platforms, and to get the most out of it, you need a data intelligence strategy. The reality is that data disrupts conventional thinking by revealing inefficiencies as well as business insights that can lead to unexpected, uncomfortable, and inconvenient outcomes based on business realities. The right use of data analytics will help solve them.
Data and big data
Every physical and virtual action generates data, with the analysis of data collected at events generating the first level of immediately actionable information. While this is a useful set of outcomes, it remains quite basic and logistical.
Big data and artificial intelligence (AI) offer a second level of information that can unlock much greater potential such as predictive analytics. By combining the two levels of data analytics, associations can transform assumptions into facts, understand how their products and events are consumed, and gain access to precise figures to improve operations, decision making, and customer offerings.
Technology and experience
Associations need to find ways to use data to improve their communication and user experience. Technology can help with segmentation, personalisation, and customisation of messages that are relevant to your stakeholders’ needs and expectations.
Clean data and AI
Clean data is crucial to an effective marketing campaign. As the flow of information continues to increase, the challenge will be to filter out the least relevant information. AI has the potential to solve this. By learning the preferences of your members and customers, it can identify trends, offer recommendations, and provide the right information at the right moment to the right target.
Five tips
- Adopt a holistic data analytics mindset throughout the organisation.
- Integrate data science into operations and processes. Simplicity and ease of use offer value and speed.
- Set clear and realistic expectations. Identify quick wins to demonstrate business value.
- Invest in time, efforts, and skills with the right set of systems and tools. Focus your efforts but avoid silos.
- Correlate and aggregate insights from data collected. Great data = great campaign
For more insights, contact Kevin Baliozian, CAE, Vice President Association Solutions, MCI USA or Marcel Ewals, Director Association Management & Consulting, MCI Singapore.
