Pierre Lechelle offers an insider’s view about challenges that marketers face by not analyzing and making decisions based on accurate data. There are still pockets of resistance from old-school marketers who fail to understand, or employ, analytical processes and methodologies that can give them valuable insights about their customers.

While data is crucial to decision-making, it can serve to complement a “gut” feeling. After all, that gut feeling may be critical in helping arrive at a decision that the data produced. It may also prove to be a valuable commodity when there is no data available at the start.

A marketer’s mindset is critically important at the outset. Decisions should be supported by data. However, if data isn’t available, allow enough time to collect the information needed. Knowing what to measure, and why it needs measuring, is a crucial step to getting the best results from your analytics tools. Keep in mind, though, that raw data cannot always be counted on to help you make the correct decisions.

Accurate data is always reliable, it’s how data is gathered, interpreted and used that can make all the difference in the world. Accurate data can only be accomplished by using the right tools. Once you’ve chosen the right tools, be careful not to become paralyzed from being buried under a mountain of analytics.

Focus on one metric at a time to find out what’s working and what’s not. It’s easy to get into a habit of looking at your data every 15 minutes. The purpose of metrics is to help marketers make decisions and not waste time. When gathered and acted on correctly, data is a decisive element that can give you a competitive edge over your competition.

Data can help you make well-informed decisions that will help to drive traffic and revenue. Read more about the benefits of data-drive decisions here.