Two years ago, I spent 10k on social media and I got nothing in return.
I was working hard for some clients in my usual field and I wanted to expand into a new revenue stream, which admittedly is far from my comfort zone. I hired a social media manager and gave her the material and a wiki on the product. I relied on her to take care of everything and didn't pay much attention to what she was doing.
She achieved some results – 300 more viewers to the social media account in one year – but ultimately, I didn't get what I wanted: sales.
There were two problems.
I didn't understand her role or how it fit into the big picture.
I was relying on someone else to tell me my business strategy.
As a solopreneur or small business owner, you can delegate as much as you like, as long as you know what's going on and you're still in control.
I've learned a valuable lesson: be competent before you delegate.
Be competent before you delegate. Even in Analytics.
If you make the same mistake in Business Analytics as I did in Marketing and don't become competent before delegating, you'll lose money as well.
I see a lot of solopreneurs and small business owners working non-stop, without taking a break. If you follow your gut and not the company's numbers and general trends, you will lose time, clients and opportunities. I don't know if your loss will be only 10k, but it will be substantial.
With analytics, you will:
Know what works and how to make the best use of your time
Know who your best clients are and where they come from
Know what your best clients want next and give it to them
The money you're losing due to lack of analytics is easy to avoid.
Follow this three-step roadmap to analytics competency.
What do You Want to Know About Your Company and Your Clients? Make a List.
Is there something you aren't confident you know about your company or your clients?
If so, find out.
Make a list of all the information you require about your company and your clients. Be specific.
The more details, the better. It doesn't matter how you phase it. This is for you to have an objective on what to focus on and what to look for.
It is also important to consider the quantity.
Our brains can only hold at most 7 pieces of information at the same time. You can have more, but you won't be able to use all of them at once to create a strategy.
The MoSCoW diagram is a great tool to help you.
Make a list of everything you need to do to grow.
If you want something done, you have to focus your attention on it.
Take Control. Learn how to Find and Understand this Information by Yourself.
Whenever we hear a piece of information, it comes with a lot of assumptions that go unheard.
If someone else is in charge of your analytics and you have never tried it, you definitely won't think to ask for these assumptions. This could result in significant misunderstandings.
If you build your strategy on the idea that something is white when it's really black, you will spend time and money and get nowhere.
I did that, and it was a mistake.
If you want to understand what the numbers are saying and make good use of them, you need to start with these small steps:
Go to the platforms you have subscriptions on, such as websites and email marketing platforms. - Find the already made, automatic dashboard.
Take the time to understand what all the plots and graphs are telling you. We have a great workshop-like event that can help you with this.
Compare what you find with the list you already have. See if the information you wanted to know is there. Be careful here. It's easy to be swayed and go with what's already on the dashboard. Maybe the platform knows better? Nope. You know your situation best, so stick to your decisions.
Good. You probably found some of the information you needed. What about the rest?
Delve even Deeper into the Topic and Get the Rest out of it.
To access the rest of the information needed, we must work a bit harder. We must build it ourselves.
Right, how do we do that?
Now, go back to your list and identify what you still need to obtain.
For each unanswered question, determine which platform has the data you require. For instance, you wouldn't search for how many people accessed your shop page on your emailing list platform, would you?
Go back to the automatic dashboard and add your own plot (if you followed the webinar, you know how to do that by now).
The Power of Competence
If I had bothered to learn before delegating, I would have known my priorities better. I know that now. I have learned from experience.
Experience will teach you too.
Once you try these steps, you'll see that your original list needs work. After enough reiterations, your strategy will change. It's a constant cycle.
Competence will help you steer the ship and keep control.
Clarity will lead you to understanding, which will lead you to better outcomes.
You'll get both competence and clarity if you follow these steps iteratively.
You can get there. I believe in you!
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