Redefining data: Has your approach changed with the times?

This blog is part of our series Adobe CQ Presents: Making the Modern Leader.

Only 35 percent of Asia-Pacific enterprise leaders excel in utilising data to drive creativity, according to our Adobe CQ test. These leaders place data collection, and the insights drawn from it, at the core of their creative process, seeing creativity as both an art and science that can be qualified and quantified.

With the pandemic upending customer behaviour, data is even more critical to build an experience-driven business, and the increased ability to collect more granular data means leaders now need to determine what is truly of value and how to evolve the way they draw insights from it.

Building this data centricity into all levels of an organisation is a challenge requiring both a culture shift and the necessary supporting infrastructure.

In the second episode of our LinkedIn Live series, Adobe CQ presents: Making the Modern Leader, we spoke with Dharmarajan K, chief product and customer officer at Tata CLiQ and Sunder Madakshira, head of marketing at Adobe India, about all things data-related, including how leaders can use data to drive creativity, and how their approach to data has changed in response to recent times.

Here’s a summary of what they had to say:

Insight 1: Data is a cultural topic

According to Sunder, how data is effectively used within an organization to drive creativity depends on whether data centricity is built into its culture. There should be a willingness to share data openly across the organization, so that it can be used to improve processes and experiences. Tata CLiQ takes a similar view, with their data use being guided by five cultural pillars. One key tenet is that data should be treated like an asset, making it an obligation for everyone to make the most of all the information they have access to. Additionally, ensuring the quality of data collected is a shared responsibly, which then ensures the quality of insights derived from it.

Insight 2: The best way to lose trust is to provide a poor customer experience

Improving the customer experience should be a priority across all levels of the organization – and companies must break down the internal siloes and come together to deliver on this collective goal. There should be clearly defined approaches to how data is generated from customers, how the information is interpreted to get consistent and accurate insights, and how these are then used to create highly personalized and meaningful experiences.

Insight 3: Data centricity leads to customer centricity

Dharamarajan firmly believes that any action you take as an organization needs to provide value to the customer, and that begins with looking at data in order to understand pain points and define the problems that need to be solved. Rather than having to rely on customers to fill out surveys, leaders now get access to an infinite amount of first party data that give them instantaneous feedback. They can easily use these to their advantage by applying a strategic lens over how it is used to creatively solve problems.

Insight 4: The problem of plenty

Today, organizations must be selective about what they choose to look at or be overwhelmed by the volume and granularity of data available, which in turn hinders their ability to efficiently translate that into meaningful insights. Additionally, it’s essential to set aside cognitive biases and focus on data-driven insights to inform decision making. Case in point: Dharmarajan shared an instance where the Tata CLiQ team assumed beauty products were being purchased by women, however deeper analysis of the purchasing data revealed it was a select group of male customers with an affinity for these products instead, and the team were able to adjust their strategies accordingly.

For more insights on how enterprise leaders from across APAC are pushing the boundaries of creativity in their organisation, be sure to follow the Adobe LinkedIn page and access all episodes here.