Data has become the fuel that drives most company decisions. We like data because it feels tangible, it’s about numbers and it seems indisputable. After all, ‘numbers don’t lie’ we’re told. But what if the numbers are right but what we’re measuring is wrong? And what if we are spending so much time stuck in the numbers that by the time we take action, we’re too late? In an age when being agile can mean survival, then perhaps we need to be more selective about what data we really need, rather than chasing the old ‘more is better’ model. <h3><b>New models for a New Era</b></h3> Consumers are more demanding than ever, and they can afford to be because they have an almost limitless number of choices. According to McKinsey, between March and August of 2020, one in five consumers switched brands and seven in ten tried new digital shopping channels. Data scientists can manipulate data, but do they know what data to prioritize? Consumers are fickle and fast moving, and brands that hope to win in the post-pandemic market will be even faster. They will need to be able to respond to more rapidly changing environments as we navigate our way out of the pandemic and into a new era. Being able to shift from physical retail to e-commerce and then to a multi-channel strategy where stores play a more significant role - with little advance warning - is going to define who wins and who loses in the next two years. Most brands and retailers are relying on data to navigate complex, often retail multinational markets - as well as link up an equally complex global supply chain. <h3>A New Way of Measuring</h3> “<a href="https://towardsdatascience.com/the-rise-of-data-downtime-841650cedfd5">Data downtime</a> — periods of time when your data is partial, erroneous, missing, or otherwise inaccurate — is an important measurement for any company striving to be data-driven. It might sound cliché, but it’s true — we work hard to collect, track, and use data, but so often we have no idea if the data is actually accurate. In fact, companies frequently end up having<a href="https://towardsdatascience.com/good-pipelines-bad-data-e55d9ba17920"> excellent data pipelines, but terrible data</a>.” said said Barr Moses, Co-Founder and CEO, Monte Carlo. Her formula for creating one simple data KPI: <strong> Data downtime = Number of data incidents x (Time-to-Detection + Time-to-Resolution)</strong> “By measuring data downtime, this simple formula will help you determine the reliability of your data, giving you the confidence necessary to use it or lose it,” she said. <h3><b>The Advantage of Being A Little Less Perfect</b></h3> However, more data doesn’t always mean better decisions. It just means more time spent analysing, and sometimes what is being analyzed has little actual relevance. It looks like we’re being more cautious. It gives a better ‘cover’ if things go wrong. And it serves as a delaying tactic for things we don’t want to do or are afraid to do. The same goes for trying to perfect a logo, marketing message or advertising graphics. No matter what you do, someone is going to love it and others will not like it. Time spent debating the nuances of colors or images ends up being time lost. As Winston Churchill famously said, “Perfection is the enemy of progress.” <h3><b>Soft Data Moves from ‘Talked About’ to ‘Acted On’</b></h3> One of advantages that many of the indie or D2C startups have is that they typically are less data driven and more guided by intuition. They are closer to their customers and ‘just get them’. They have their hands in the clay in a way that is easier to do when you are a smaller business. For corporates, while this closeness to their customers is more difficult to achieve, the way forward will be to try and shift away from an over reliance on data, while finding ways to get feedback from customers. For brands who have physical stores, this is a prime place to gather this all-important soft data. For pure e-commerce players, finding ways to communicate with customers will be an increasingly essential part of winning in an increasingly competitive market. Setting up informal online customer feedback groups is one way to get people to share with you what they want, what they need and what they might be willing to do or buy. <h3><b>Redefining Success</b></h3> The data or metrics we are used to measuring might need to be redefined. Ideally, we are creating the smallest number of KPI’s that will be the most actionable. The key word here is “action”. Just as chasing perfectionism impedes progress, so does spending time analyzing data that leads to nowhere. Ultimately, as marketing genius Seth Godin counsels, “you have to ship the product” and move on and create the next product. The successful brands ship and ship often. The rest are still testing, analyzing and refining - and wondering why their competitors are getting all the sales. “With fancy algorithms and business metrics flying all over the place, it’s easy to overcomplicate how we measure this. Sometimes, the simplest way is the best way,” said Barr Moses.