China's Top 3 Data Sins

It’s no secret that I LOVE data. You can’t argue with cold, hard facts. BUT, there is a right way & a wrong way to utilize data. Are you guilty of committing any of these 3 data sins?

1. Acting against what the data tells you
Not an issue if you know the data model is incomplete. But when you know the data is good and you still make the wrong call, it’s time to reflect on a few things.

2. Doing exactly what the data tells you, when you shouldn’t have
Data can be flawed. Even when they’re not, data models don’t always capture the full picture. That’s especially true in China ecommerce.

You need dynamic teams that can identify these situations. Your tech team needs to have domain experience and your business analysts need to know when to break the rules.

But the greatest sin of all is….

3. Analyzing data just for the sake of analyzing data.
No decisions are made. People play around with data for hours without real purpose. Maybe it’s a process issue. Maybe it’s an HR issue. Whatever it is, you need to get rid of it. If you realize this problem, you may need a consultant to help deal with this.

In the end, data is supposed to save or make you money. Is data helping your business or is it just another part of bureaucracy?