Skip to content

Providing a Data-Driven Foundation to Innovation

Connecting Analytics to Strategy

As SAS notes in its blog on the subject, “Analytics Drives Innovation,” by Fiona McNeill, Global Product Marketing Manager, creating an analytical environment, and converting that environment into an operational process, will drive innovation initiatives. Further, it should be directly tied to the enterprise’s business strategy. “The organization’s strategy should direct the analytical environment, and the analytical environment should support the company’s strategy.”

In this way, the relationship between organizational strategy and the analytical environment is built in three distinct stages, according to SAS:

  1. Stage 1: Long-term informational insight: This type of analysis is what helps organizations identify trends and evaluate business scenarios. Data warehousing, data marts, data lakes, virtualized repositories, online analytical processing (OLAP), reports and interactive visual analysis on loosely coupled sources typically support this stage.
  2. Stage 2: Internal and external environment mapping: This mapping can include market considerations, customers’ behaviors, competitors’ actions, and details regarding the products and services that your organization offers. This allows companies to identify the merits of particular scenarios or characteristics that help direct efforts to improve or change current activity.
  3. Stage 3: Corporate strategy alignment: The development and deployment of analytical models is directed by core business goals such as product expansion (with cross-sell or up-sell initiatives), attrition prevention, fraud identification and risk mitigation. Data- and text-mining models, forecasting and other methods that use artificial intelligence, machine learning or statistics commonly support these types of endeavors.

Supporting Innovation

In All Things Insights’ “Leveraging Data Analytics to Drive Innovation,” we explored how insights, data and analytics can often work in close partnership with innovation to drive product and service development. Indeed, supporting the innovation team is a key area of focus for insights professionals.

Looking forward to FEI 2024? The conference, which will be held June 10 to 12, will feature a session called “Analytics For Innovation,” presented by Anu Sundaram, Vice President, Business Analytics, Rue Gilt Groupe. Where are you as a business? When it comes to your data and analytics, consistent maturity is obviously a must. What does the business need? Areas for analytics work within innovation abound. Efficient, step-change innovation is possible. Divining or refining a data driven analytics strategy is the priority. Register for FEI 2024 here.

The Power of Analytics

Analytics plays a crucial role in driving innovation. Here are several ways, according to ChatGPT, in which analytics can contribute to fostering innovation:

  1. Data-Driven Decision Making: Analytics provides organizations with the ability to make informed decisions based on data insights. By analyzing trends, patterns, and customer behavior, decision-makers can identify opportunities for innovation and refine strategies to meet evolving market demands.
  2. Identifying Market Trends: Analytics tools can analyze market data, consumer behavior, and competitive landscapes to identify emerging trends. This information helps organizations stay ahead of the curve, anticipate market shifts, and proactively innovate to meet changing customer preferences.
  3. Customer Insights for Product Development: Understanding customer preferences and needs is essential for innovation. Analytics allows businesses to gather and analyze customer data, enabling the creation of products or services that better align with customer expectations and deliver improved user experiences.
  4. Optimizing Operations and Processes: Analytics can be applied to optimize internal processes and operations. By analyzing performance data, organizations can identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and areas for improvement. Streamlining operations frees up resources that can be redirected towards innovation initiatives.
  5. Predictive Analytics for Forecasting: Predictive analytics leverages historical data to forecast future trends, demand, and outcomes. This capability helps organizations anticipate challenges, plan for future needs, and innovate in a proactive manner rather than reacting to events.
  6. Risk Management: Analytics aids in identifying and mitigating risks by analyzing data related to market dynamics, regulatory changes, and other external factors. By understanding potential risks, organizations can innovate in risk management strategies, ensuring resilience and sustainability.
  7. Personalized Marketing and Services: Analytics enables organizations to create personalized marketing campaigns and services. By analyzing customer data, businesses can tailor their offerings to individual preferences, enhancing customer engagement and driving innovation in marketing strategies.
  8. Supply Chain Optimization: Analytics can optimize supply chain processes by analyzing data related to logistics, inventory levels, and supplier performance. This optimization leads to cost savings, improved efficiency, and opportunities for innovation in supply chain management.
  9. Employee Productivity and Engagement: Analyzing employee data can provide insights into productivity, satisfaction, and engagement levels. Innovations in employee experience and engagement strategies can be developed by understanding workforce dynamics and addressing areas for improvement.
  10. Continuous Improvement Through Feedback: Analytics allows organizations to collect and analyze feedback from customers, employees, and other stakeholders. This continuous feedback loop facilitates iterative improvements, driving innovation in products, services, and overall business strategies.

Analytics to the Core

Analytics serves as a powerful tool for organizations seeking to drive innovation. By leveraging data-driven insights, businesses can make informed decisions, identify market opportunities, optimize operations, and create products and services that better meet the evolving needs of customers and the dynamic business environment.

As SAS notes in its blog, “At its core, analytics provide a foundation for data-driven innovation, creating and delivering new knowledge, and accessible information.” Accessibility is also integral to the process. SAS continues, “The difference with analytically mature, innovative organizations, is that these insights are universally accessible–whether you work in HR, finance, sales, logistics, marketing, or services. The data is recognized as a corporate asset and analytical methods become intellectual property.”

Video courtesy of Experian UK Business

Contributor

  • Matt Kramer

    Matthew Kramer is the Digital Editor for All Things Insights & All Things Innovation. He has over 20 years of experience working in publishing and media companies, on a variety of business-to-business publications, websites and trade shows.

    View all posts
 
 

Related Content

Big pile of light bulbs with one lit up.
analytics

Unlocking the Potential of Data Innovation

With FEI 2024’s focus on AI, human capabilities, and the data-innovation journey, among other topics, All Things Innovation had a chance to discuss…

Colorful USB plugs moving up like a chart from left to right.
artificial intelligence

Plugging into AI & ML Adoption

In the rapidly evolving landscape of consumer-packaged goods (CPG), the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) is no lo…

A diamond and its facets.
ROI

Finding the Value of Innovation

Gail Martino, VP Partnerships, 387Labs, was on hand at FEI 2024 as a moderator for the Brunch with the Bots presentation on the final day of the confe…

Three architects looking over blueprints at building site.
insights

Building the Right Data & Insights Team

You’ve heard it before: Data is the new oil. Just as crude oil needs refining to become valuable, data must be processed to unlock its potential. Ente…

The closeup of a jet engine.
fail fast

Creating a Culture of Experimentation

Many in the community feel that fostering a culture of innovation is paramount. A key to this is building a culture of experimentation. This stems fro…

A sphere in space, with data points of light
Front End of Innovation

Innovation in Action: Trends from FEI 2024

This past June, the vibrant city of Boston, known for its trailblazing spirit, became the epicenter of innovation as it hosted the Front End of Innova…

Crumpled paper on top of idea/innovation sketch pad with drawing of light bulb.
innovation strategy

FEI 2024 Report: The Future of Innovation

A successful three-day event marked Front End of Innovation (FEI) 2024 in Boston, held June 10 to 12 at the Omni Hotel at the Seaport. A reenergized a…

Lifting a hand weight at the gym/fitness theme.
innovation culture

Harnessing the Power of Consumer Insights

Innovation doesn’t happen in a silo, and a great product or idea can only go so far on its own. Tapping into the pulse of your consumer is key to ta…

Futuristic city at night with data points of light rising from the bottom.
data science

Mapping Out the Data-Innovation Journey

This year, in our latest Innovation Perspectives Report, the editors of All Things Innovation brought together a cross-section of innovation, insights…

An accelerating speedometer.
innovation analytics

Accelerating a Data-Driven Approach

If we accept that data lies at the heart of marketing and business decision-making, a data-driven approach must be paramount in today’s environment….

a surface of black cubes rising from floor, varying heights, one stands out in yellow above the rest.
data science

Leveraging AI in B2B Respondent Insights

In the B2B marketing landscape, artificial intelligence has shown great potential. It is becoming an essential and advantageous tool, a tool which no…

coin operated binoculars and open blue sky
innovation culture

The Road to FEI24: Analytics for Innovation

Anu Sundaram, Vice President, Business Analytics, Rue Gilt Groupe, is planning an interactive analytics session for FEI 2024, taking place this June….

explorer in a cave
behavioral insights

Applying AI to Anthropological Research

Agile research and methodologies are of primary importance to the innovation discipline, as they promote a more versatile, rapid, adaptive approach to…

Shopper in a grocery store.
data science

8 Risks If You Don’t Have an AI Strategy

In the fast-paced world of Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), where product life cycles are short and consumer trends shift with lightning speed, stay…

prompt engineering
innovative prompts

Positioning the Role of Prompt Engineering

Prompt engineering is one of the latest buzzwords when it comes to artificial intelligence, but what is this evolving and complex job function? Some m…

automation

Powering AI-Driven Innovation

The advancements in artificial intelligence have rapidly impacted and transformed the business world around us. For insights and innovation, it has in…

data management

Finding Best Practices for Data Management

Data management is critical in today’s innovation and overall business environment. This ensures that data is collected, cleansed, analyzed and stor…

technology

Gaining an Innovation Edge with Automation

With the focus on how artificial intelligence, as well as digital transformation efforts, can help streamline operations, it’s worth another look at…

artificial intelligence

Advancing Universal Interaction

Artificial intelligence, specifically generative AI, has the potential to be a great equalizing disruptive technology of our time. While we are still…

business strategy

How AI is Redefining Business Strategy

Over the last year, AI went from being the next big thing to being the Big Thing. In particular, Large Language Models (LLMs) from companies like Open…

disruptive technology

Shaping the Future with Disruptive Technology

As we head into 2024, innovation of all types, most especially in technology, will continue to disrupt, transform and impact our lives, from the workp…

innovation strategy

The Impact of AI on Innovation

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is having a profound impact and influence on a broad range of industries. From healthcare to publishing to industrial fie…

innovation performance

Measuring Innovation Performance

Innovation can be a key component to drive a company’s success and performance, in both short-term and long-term initiatives. Yet many executives gr…

technology

Living in A Digital Transformation World

Digital transformation (DX) has been a hot topic in the innovation space for some time, but the term can be easily misunderstood as well. As we accele…

data analytics

Diving Into Humanity-Centric Innovation

With the continued emergence and evolving development of artificial intelligence, there rises a question of how humans and AI can work together more e…

technology

15 Second Workday

This morning I generated 40 new product ideas with concepts and ad copy to accompany each.  It took 15 seconds. This is just a small fraction of what…

innovation culture

Measurable Innovation

Each company has their own KPIs that are important to their specific business in place to progress and be successful. Are people at the forefront of i…