Why You Should Have a Bromance With Data Just Like Jean-Luc Picard

Data is a Star Trek robot/synthetic humanoid that saves his captain’s life (Jean-Luc Picard). Over the last couple decades and through several Star Trek series, movies, and reboots (like Picard, which is excellent) Picard and Data form a truly an endearing bond. Shed a tear or roll your eyes, whatever. 

The important lesson here is that Data should be a close friend to all. In the new Picard series, one alien species is trying to destroy all “synthetics” like Data, just like some businesses today toss data in the garbage. They decide to “use their gut” because data is expensive to gather and hard to interpret. 

Here are the three main reasons why quantitative data could save your life, just like it saved Jean-Luc.

1.     Truly know your customer

Here’s a mistake lots of managers make: they a think they are the target customer. “Nobody would buy that,” they say, when in fact, people would very much buy it. Or “asparagus-flavored soda is the future” they say, when in fact it is very much not the future.

Numbers support your decisions, and sometimes more importantly, they make it clear when to say no. Gathering regular data about your consumers can shape effective strategy, and allow you to develop clear consumer personas to really unify your marketing team’s efforts.

Check out how cool this data is about consumers across retailers.

2.     Make faster decisions

Data acquisition in many industries can be immediate. If you have systems in place to get real-time quantitative insights into how your customers are behaving, you absolutely have an advantage over businesses who do not have real-time data. Timing is key.

“The most effective customer experience (CX) often involves personalization and optimization—providing the right message at the right time, in the right channel, and in the right sequence.”

  Source: John Healy, Deloitte.wsj.com

3.     Avoid Conflict

People say some tension is good for progress and innovation, but internal warfare is bad. Avoid managerial schisms with sound data. You can still argue about data interpretation, sure, but it’s way better to have data to start with than a bunch of hunches. 

“Could you please continue the petty bickering? I find it most intriguing.”

-DATA, Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Haven"

I leave you with parting wisdom in Klingon: De' jup (data is your friend).

Pay attention to Data

Not that data