Discovering the Magic of Analytics

‘Seek thee out a diamond in the rough’ the command echoes through the starry skied desert as the entrance disappears to the fabled lamp. There’s a lull as Jafar and the audience take in this statement. What does it mean to Jafar and what is the next move he makes? Jafar uses magic next to reveal the right person to go into the cavern.

If only something like that existed for us to improve our choices. To have the magic to find a better love match, recommend a movie or pick out the right items for our beauty routine. Actually there is something, analytics which can work like magic and is used on dating sites, Netflix and Sephora.

Analytics can improve many industries and the ones I am passionate about deal with the jewelry and accessory industry. Since I’m an analyst and not a magician I can reveal some much needed insight from a company’s ‘data in the rough’. These takeaways can be used to apply to an area in your business.

I’m drawn to the jewelry industry because selling an item that can hold an emotion and memory that can last beyond a lifetime is a powerful thing to be selling. It can also be a challenge to find the right person to see the value and emotion in the piece being sold. The jewelry industry is at a challenging time in its history, in trying to keep up with the times but not lose that personal connection that makes it unique.

I see the many jewelry businesses looking at technology wrong by using tactics and strategies that work for other industries but are not that effective for this industry. A few mistakes I’ve witnessed:

• Mass emails-Many items I’m not interested in and the in-store events can’t work with my 9-5 job
• Facebook posts or pictures- those that do not give any description or insight into the product or brand. Some of the items are pretty but what would make me comment and share with others?
• Lack of customization- it ties in with the first point, random emails and posts that are not targeting a group create unnecessary noise that makes the brand seem less genuine

Balancing experience and analysis on new trends can help you adapt to this new consumer world, but it takes trial and error.

The movie from above was in theaters when I was a kid making me a part of the millennial generation. A consumer group that will be growing in spending power as we continue moving up in our careers. Our tastes will change some but our approach and past experiences will be deciding factors in what we purchase in the future. I hope by following my blog you can see aspects in your business or way of thinking that can help you better align with finding, connecting and retaining the right customer. I believe the right data is out there you just need to know how to interpret and find the right ‘data in the rough’.