Data Ownership: How to Gain Deeper Insights in Your Business

We’ve all been there – drowning in a sea of data spread across countless spreadsheets, databases, and systems that seem to speak entirely different languages. It’s like trying to solve a puzzle with pieces from different boxes – frustrating, chaotic, and often impossible to complete. Poor-quality data, duplicate entries, and a lack of standardization can turn your most valuable asset into a tangled mess. However, with the right approach to data ownership you can bring order to the chaos and unlock powerful insights that drive your business forward.

To illustrate the impact of poor data ownership, let’s consider a hypothetical yet realistic case of ABC Retail, a mid-sized company that has grown rapidly over the past few years.

With new stores opening across the country and an expanding online presence, they are collecting more data than ever before – sales figures, customer preferences, inventory levels, and marketing metrics. However, as the company grows, so do its data problems.

Each department has its own system for managing data. The sales team uses one software to track in-store purchases, while the e-commerce team relies on a completely different platform for online sales. Marketing uses a separate customer relationship management (CRM) tool to manage email campaigns and social media interactions. Meanwhile, inventory is tracked in spreadsheets that vary from store to store.

The result? Data is scattered, duplicated, inconsistent, and often outdated. The sales and e-commerce teams cannot agree on which numbers are correct. Marketing campaigns are based on incomplete customer profiles, leading to ineffective targeting. Inventory management is a nightmare, with stockouts in some locations and overstock in others because the data doesn’t provide a clear picture of demand.

To make matters worse, each department controls its data, with little communication between them. There is no central authority ensuring that data is accurate, standardized, or accessible across the business. This lack of data ownership means that decisions are often based on incomplete or conflicting information.

One day, the company decides to launch a major marketing campaign to boost sales during the holiday season. The marketing team, working with outdated and fragmented customer data, sends out personalized offers that miss the target: Customers receive irrelevant promotions, and many loyal shoppers are left out entirely. The campaign flops, leading to disappointing sales figures just when the company needs a boost.

Sound familiar? According to a 2021 research study on data maturity, data ownership remains a confusing topic – 42% of firms had no data owners or relied on IT to fill this pivotal role. The problem worsens when a company, like ABC Retail, relies on different systems for various processes, leading to data from multiple sources with varying quality, no standardization, and a high likelihood of duplication.

In the aftermath, the leadership at ABC realizes that their poor data ownership was at the heart of the problem. Without a unified approach to managing and governing data, they have been making decisions based on faulty insights.

So, how can you tackle the data ownership challenge?

1. Implementing Data Governance

Establish clear policies and procedures for how data is managed, from collection to storage and usage. This ensures that data is handled consistently across the organization, reducing errors and maintaining data integrity. By enforcing strong data governance, you can ensure that all data-related activities align with business objectives and regulatory requirements.

Example: Implement a Data Access Control Policy where only the finance team has access to financial records, while HR can access employee data but not sales data. Additionally, a Data Quality Policy could standardize how customer names and addresses are entered into the system, reducing errors and ensuring uniformity across departments. Finally, a Data Retention Policy might specify that customer purchase data is kept for five years before being securely archived or deleted, ensuring compliance with privacy laws while managing data storage efficiently.

2. Centralizing Data

Use data integration tools to consolidate all disparate data sources into a single, unified system, such as a data warehouse or a cloud-based platform, such as Snowflake or Salesforce Data Cloud. This move ensures that all departments have access to consistent and standardized information, reducing errors and eliminating silos.

Example: By centralizing data, you can integrate sales data from various store locations, online transactions, and customer service interactions into a single data warehouse. This means that whether a customer purchases online or in-store, their information is consistently updated across all platforms. A unified system might also include inventory data from different warehouses, allowing all departments to see real-time stock levels, reducing the chances of over-ordering or stockouts.

3. Data Cleaning and Standardization

Regularly clean and standardize data to eliminate duplicates, correct errors, and ensure consistency across all sources. This process helps maintain high-quality data, which is crucial for accurate analysis and decision-making.

Example: Regular data cleaning could involve routinely checking your customer database to remove duplicate entries, such as the same customer being listed multiple times with slight variations in their name or contact information. Standardizing data might mean ensuring that all dates are entered in the same format (e.g., DD-MM-YYYY) across all systems or that product descriptions follow a consistent naming convention.

4. Investing in Analytics Tools

Utilize analytics tools to effectively process and analyze data from various sources. These tools enable the transformation of raw data into meaningful insights, helping identify trends, optimize operations, and make informed decisions. Tableau, Sigma Computing, and ThoughtSpot are strong tools that can help your business harness the power of data, drive growth, and maintain a competitive edge in the market.

Example: By investing in analytics tools, you can automatically analyze sales data to identify which products are top sellers in specific regions or seasons, allowing you to tailor inventory and marketing strategies accordingly. Another use could be analyzing customer behavior data from both online and in-store interactions to uncover patterns, such as peak shopping times or preferred purchase methods, helping you optimize staffing and promotions.

5. Fostering Collaboration

Encourage cross-departmental collaboration to ensure that all parts of the business contribute to and benefit from a unified data strategy. This approach helps break down silos and creates a more cohesive approach to data management.

Example: Set up regular meetings where marketing, sales, and product development teams share their insights and data findings. The marketing team could share customer feedback data with product development, allowing them to adjust features based on real customer needs. Similarly, the sales team could provide data on the most popular products, which the marketing team can use to refine their campaigns.

Unlocking the Power of Data Ownership

In today's data-driven world, the ability to harness and effectively manage data is no longer just a competitive advantage – it's a necessity. The challenges faced by ABC Retail are not unique; many organizations struggle with fragmented data, poor data governance, and a lack of collaboration. However, by taking ownership of your data you can transform your data from a chaotic burden into a strategic asset.

By adopting a unified approach to data ownership and fostering a strong data culture, your business can unlock deeper insights, make more informed decisions, and ultimately drive sustainable growth. The key is to treat data as the valuable resource it is. Manage it with care, and it will reward you with the clarity and insights needed to navigate the complexities of the modern business landscape. The journey to effective data ownership may require time and effort, but the payoff – a more agile, responsive, and successful organization – is well worth it.