Smart Business Magazine, January 2015

January 2015 Smart Business Northern California 7 MALCOLM STEWART ON POINT MALCOLM STEWART CEO YouEye Inc For more than 20 years Malcolm has propelled growth for prominent technology firms as a senior executive board member and investor Prior to joining YouEye Malcolm served as vice president of strategy at Avaya director of Strategic Planning at Microsoft and vice president of corporate development at Verio @ YouEyeTests www youeye com Big datas big mistake Quantity doesnt overshadow quality of consumer facts and figures So what happened How did we get to the point where quantitative data has become the darling of data crunchers and marketers while qualitative data has fallen by the wayside Marketers e commerce leaders and product managers seem to have all but forgotten the power of the qualitative data they used to rely on so heavily and were starting to see a tipping point Is focusing solely on big data a big mistake When big data controls marketing strategy companies risk treating their customers like numbers Today marketers all over the globe are so wrapped up in numbers that they are neglecting the human side of data Further big data is destined to eventually plateau and we may already be there You see this happening when looking at something like standard conversion rates Enter qualitative research To make a real difference to move the dial beyond standard conversion rates or any other conventional figure youre used to seeing we need to enact a different approach when it comes to creating and marketing new products and positioning strategies You need insight into what customers really want And to obtain this you need qualitative data Leveraging both kinds of data Dont get me wrong quantitative research is essential for our product and marketing strategies Still qualitative research is the missing link to getting the whole picture While quantitative data can tell you how many people are abandoning your e commerce shopping cart qualitative can tell you why In these instances marketers begin to see the benefits of layering qualitative insights with quantitative data And now that brands are becoming more interested in creating stories that align with the language of their customers qualitative research is once again becoming an interesting avenue Investing only in big data is not going to take your brand to the top A layered approach to bringing quantitative and qualitative together is well worth the effort in the coming year for any product or marketing initiative you have planned A few takeaways Real customer insights are necessary to turn quantitative data into qualitative information Use qualitative insights to direct the questions of any quantitative study and use qualitative data to help answer the why behind the numbers Aim for moving the dial beyond the inch by inch growth and optimization were used to seeing with pure quantitative based actions Take advantage of the efficient affordable methods available for obtaining qualitative customer insight Finally dont make the mistake of getting too wrapped up in big data The real stories lie in the holistic set of data thats available to us no matter what type of campaign were running or product were developing In the 20th century instinct and an understanding of human nature drove marketing and advertising Quantitative data simply did not exist the way it does today and that left advertisers marketers with the tool of qualitative research speaking to the target market directly Back then just as today qualitative research told brands the why behind a decision to buy a product choose one brand over another and more LINK UP with Malcolm Stewart on LinkedIn www linkedin com in malcolmstewart