3 Key Benefits to Hiring a Data & Analytics Leader for Your Business

A recent survey by EY found that 53% of senior executives have identified data and analytics as their top investment priority in the next two years.

This trend is not surprising given the vast amounts of data that companies generate daily. From customer behavior and preferences to market trends and competitive insights, data is a valuable business asset that can help companies make better decisions, improve their operations, and drive revenue growth.

However, for organizations to truly monetize their data, they need leaders who can effectively analyze and interpret data assets. That’s where an experienced data and analytics leader can provide immense value to a business.

Unlocking Value & Supporting Revenue Growth

Simply collecting data will not extract profit or deliver strategic use. Companies need a clear framework and guidance to cultivate value. An experienced data and analytics leader can provide both.

The experience and knowledge of a data-focused leader can simplify the process of aligning your data strategy with business goals and objectives. Their regular immersion in data enables them to spot beneficial sources of information and metrics that drive the most business value. While your executive team understands industry and market trends, a distinct data expert can help the c-suite identify, organize, and report on data in a way that allows for efficient and effective data-driven decision making.  

There is no shortage of examples about how data used correctly can boost revenue and create value, but here are a select few:

• A food and beverage company generated an additional $25 million annual revenue by using smart analytics on sales, product levels, and competition over account manager intuition alone.
• Vista, a printing and design company, under the guidance of their Chief Data Officer, helped to monetize data products for the company, documenting $90 million in incremental profits.
• BetMGM, a sports betting and gaming company, increased predictive marketing ROI by 22%, conversion by 5%, and customer retention by 7% by investing in BI, analytics, churn modeling, and personalization.

Many organizations have proven they are capable of identifying useful data sources and insights without a data-centric leader, but the process takes longer, and often organizations are finding that without a dedicated D&A leader in place, there’s is a lack of ownership to drive a strategic plan and act on important insights.

Driving Efficiencies in Tech & Decision Making

The right technology and tools determine how effectively your company can collect, store, and analyze its data. An experienced data and analytics leader can be instrumental in helping a business assess, implement, integrate, or consolidate data-enabling tech stacks.

It’s easy to see the signs of struggle in businesses that lack a high-ranking data and analytics champion. Forrester predicts 25% of D&A projects will be terminated in 2023, in part because of the perception that data and analytics projects fall short of expectations. Senior data and analytics leaders can prevent these shortcomings from happening. When this perspective is available to the C-Suite, D&A leaders can guide the implementation of systems, platforms, and technology while building a data-driven culture where employees at all levels can make informed decisions.

Establishing a Competitive Edge in the Market

In an increasingly complex and competitive global market, an experienced data and analytics leader can help a business stay ahead of the competition. In PwC’s second Chief Data Officer Study, they found that the presence of a Chief Data officer or similar role appears correlated with strong financial performance, perhaps reflecting the growing value of data and the tendency of high-performing, data-rich organizations to need data executives.

In our own experience, hiring a seasoned data and analytics leader can give you a competitive advantage, no matter your industry. Data-driven deliberation can build upon your knowledge of trends, customer behavior, and competitors’ movements. As with most innovations, full success comes from hiring the right person.

A Final Thought

The value of hiring a data and analytics leader is clear when you need to anticipate market trends, tailor products and services to customer behavior, and expand margins across the board. Yet searching for the right talent takes time and a critical eye for what makes an exceptional data-driven executive.

Yes, more organizations recognize the need for this role. Even then, the current market is experiencing turnover and attrition due to mismatched skillsets, industry background, or culture. If your organization can evaluate and acquire top executive talent as quickly as possible, there’s no limit to your ability to monetize your data, grow your business, and outperform the competition.

Who can we find for you? 

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