Looking at data-driven communications from the eyes of a finance industry professional, with 15 years of experience, Nadeem. Besides his journey, he talks about how data-driven communications can help create business impact to fulfil business objectives and more.

Check out the entire conversation:

Introduction

0:01 One of the things that I’ve seen people sometimes do, whoever is in tune with data, is analysis paralysis. There’s so much data to look at, you basically keep on looking at data and not taking action with it.

I think when you talk about data as a feeling, you’re basically talking about that next right? So, you’re talking about all industries right now where data is consumed to generate better decisions. When you look at it from that perspective, I have been in touch with data my whole life. From the engineering post that I did, even the first consulting job that I picked up. But I think the school that I have really studied in, in terms of data, has been Capital One, which is a school for data-driven strategies for a lot of people in my network. There, a key thing that really shone out in that journey is how being disciplined about data, how we use it, and how to make sure that we generate insights that are unbiased. We need to make sure that we influence people using those grounded insights to generate immense value for a business, and that’s what we want.

I continued my journey with Wells Fargo in a very similar frame to what I have been doing with ExtraaEdge, where my use of data and trying to nudge everybody around with the peer group was very deeply invested in data. It has been a story through the ex-CEO and now with the current CEO, where we now have farmers and they’re using data to influence not only how our farmers can get better lives but in every aspect of our business, including HR, credit, and economic advice. We have the same key goal of improving the business and the value that we create every day.

First interaction with data

2:19 It depends on the perspective. Look at it again. I mean, if you’re an engineer, you look at it all the time. But even if I bring it from my current professional perspective around analytics and great interest, it was literally my first project itself. The other idea was to include efficiency to be able to deliver value. It produced questions. Now, just to tune in that into how do you use that intra-community right there, without a very structured approach, there could be multiple answers to it, and there could be multiple things. 3:02 In the first particular itself, when you’re trying to align your stakeholders and counter-parties to specific, that would basically mean that you have to communicate in a very efficient way. So, I guess that is the one place way back in my career, and I’m not sure that’s what you’re looking for in terms of external communication, incoming first data.

What I think is probably relevant is the way the industry, or all companies, have started deeply looking at marketing campaigns and the valuable book to sales in the very nature. So, as you’re communicating within and trying to figure out if you think a campaign is valuable, being able to measure that while it’s a very creative process and being able to measure the creative process in a very rational way, at least lets you make sure that every step you take is an improvement on this model.

Using data in communications

4:17 Throughout my career, from my time at Capital One to my current role at ExtraaEdge, I have seen the power of data in improving not just a company’s business value, but also its impact on farmers’ lives and other aspects of the business.

While data is a powerful tool, there is always the risk of analysis paralysis – getting stuck in looking at data without taking action. To avoid this, I have focused on disciplined use of data to ensure that insights are unbiased and grounded in fact.

Communication is also crucial in the use of data. In order to influence stakeholders and drive sales, it is important to communicate in a rational and influential manner. In my experience, data is used every day in communication, as it provides the power and basis for effective messaging.

Integrating data into campaigns

4:57 In my experience, using data to communicate and influence has been a key aspect of my job. Whether it’s from an engineering perspective or in my current role in analytics, using data efficiently to generate insights and communicate them in a clear and unbiased manner has been crucial. One example of this is in my current company’s work with farmers. We use data to show them the value of our campaigns and communicate how they can improve their profit and loss statements using specific inputs. This method of clear communication using data has not only been effective with our farmers, but also internally within the company to align everyone towards a single goal of improving people’s lives. Overall, using data in communication has been a powerful tool to influence and drive positive change.

Metrics to measure

6:15 In my experience, data and communication go hand in hand in influencing others and driving real business value. For example, in my current company, we use data to show our farmers the value that will come from our campaigns and communications, rather than relying on subjective messaging. This approach has helped us align our entire company towards the mission of delivering people.

In terms of measuring the effectiveness of communication, I believe the conversion rate is a key metric. It indicates whether a message is generating the desired action from customers. Ultimately, a high conversion rate leads to a lower cost of acquisition and a stronger business value. While traditional mediums may still have value, I believe that data and effective communication are essential for success.

Role of communications outreaches for the business

7:38 In my opinion, at a high level, there are two main effects of communication outreach. The first is figuring out the number of people taking actions right now, and the second is building brand recognition over the long term. The latter is more difficult to measure in the short term because it requires consistent effort and cannot be achieved in a day or a month. Therefore, it’s essential for companies to have a strategy to evaluate brand recall through surveys, as it’s a journey of years. As people start to trust a brand and become advocates, the brand’s recognition will increase over time. Both short-term and long-term effects are important and should be measured differently. Building a brand requires constant visibility and consistent messaging to develop trust. It’s crucial to have an excellent product and consistently portray the image you want to be associated with to develop trust and have people talking about your brand.

Role of communications in future

9:47 The biggest behavioral change that has been consistent across industries and geographies is familiarity with distant communication mediums. At one time, TV and radio were popular, but now Instagram and TikTok have a deeper reach even in rural areas. The pandemic also forced people to become more comfortable with virtual meetings.

As companies develop the ability to accurately measure what each customer needs, they will also be able to react to that by delivering messaging to their audience at the right time. More people being digitally present will give companies better insights into when and what customers are looking for, and machine learning and AI can help predict this. However, there are ethical considerations on how deeply and at what aggregated level these decisions should be made.

One consistent trend is that consumers expect companies to use data effectively to reach out to them at the right time. Companies are now pushing to deliver products and services in 10 minutes, as opposed to a few weeks in the past. Making decisions that are not generic, but really customized to each individual, is something that everyone will start expecting, as much as it is ethically possible.

My Two cents

12:21 The biggest advice that I can give is being grounded in foundational principles, right? I have seen this often as people start developing the program. And it’s not about tools, it’s not about how hard you work. It’s sometimes about mindset, a traditional mindset of taking actions and leaps of faith using anecdotal evidence. For example, if one weird person thought that an action could be useful, is that enough data for you to generalize it for everybody?

So, what I’m trying to say is, as humans, we tend to take decisions based on data which align with what we think is right already. So to me, the biggest learning would be to be very disciplined with how you look at the whole. I mean, not from an academic perspective, sometimes you have to take leaps of faith and you would be recommending leaps of faith in terms of creativity. But at least having the ability to measure if the leap of faith you took was accurate to what you expected to come out of it is going to be really important. And obviously, one of the things that I’ve seen people sometimes do, whoever you’re in tune with data, is analysis paralysis. There’s so much to look at, you basically keep on looking at data and not taking action out of it. So, the key pieces are to know where you want to invest your time and to do an 80-20, like 80% of the value constraint, 20% of your effort, and making sure it’s going to take place.

I think these two things together are really powerful for any person. But sometimes, it’s not about 100% of certainty, it’s about generating real value. So while you are disciplined in terms of understanding of data and making sure the way you read data and generate insight is not biased, you also have to acknowledge that real life sometimes needs speed, and it might need you to take leaps of faith. But you should ideally have ways of measuring at the tail end if the leaps of faith paid off.