The coronavirus-lockdown period is either coming to an end or already finished for many countries. As it comes to an end, companies are trying to find their footing in the new normal. Different departments are returning to work and are trying to understand their changing roles in their companies.

As a data-driven company, Exponea has always had strong ties to the digital analytics community. So we reached out to Peter O’Neill to ask for his thoughts on the changing role of digital analytics in a post-lockdown world.

Peter O’Neill is the Director of Analytics at Ayima, a digital marketing and SEO agency in London. He is also the founder of MeasureCamp, an annual analytics conference with a global presence. With over 13 years of digital analytics experience, Peter provides valuable insight into what to expect in the next few months.

You can watch the 20-minute video below. We’ll share some of the key takeaways under the video.

Key Takeaways

Changing conditions

• A lot has changed in the world, but the main role of analytics hasn’t. Companies still need to use the intelligence from their data, combined with their own knowledge and experience, to make decisions. 
• During stronger economic times, poor analytics or bad decision making could be hidden by a strong market. Now, a lack of analytics will stand out much more starkly.
• Post-lockdown, it’s likely that companies will have less money and less people. This makes mistakes much more costly. Before, a mistake was a learning experience. Now, it can’t be afforded. You need to get things right the first time around.

Changing assumptions

• Companies can’t assume that customer behavior and their market are the same as they were pre-lockdown. You need to use data to re-learn who your customers are and what your market is.

The job of an analyst

• The core functions of the job haven’t changed: identify the actions you want to take, determine what information you need to guide those actions, and find that information.
• The information guiding those actions, however, has probably changed from what it was in the past.
• All assumptions need to be cast away.

Making analytics work for your business

• Analytics mean nothing if people can’t act on insights. A beautiful report that no one sees is worth a lot less than a mediocre report that drives meaningful action.
• Analytics need to be understandable by non-analysts. An ideal is a “see this → do that” report: when someone sees “x” on their report, they know they need to do “y”.
• A data-driven organization requires buy-in from the top down. A strong analytics team requires good people and good tools, which doesn’t happen from the bottom up.

At Exponea, we have prepared an assessment to help you understand where your company’s current capabilities stand in relation to the new normal. After you take the assessment, you’ll receive results and personalized next steps based on where you are now. As the lockdown ends, it’s a great opportunity to focus on improving your analytical capabilites.