How Can Data Analytics Improve Product Development?

Analyzing data and developing a product based on the analysis is very similar to planting a seed. Results take patience, time, and the flexibility to deal with unexpected consumer shift in behaviors.

Information based strategies has worked well for many e-retailers using data analytics to improve their business performance in the product development phase.

How Does Data Analytics Help?

Data analytics is a top priority to accomplish a well rounded product management for one main reason: product improvement. Without analytics, product development is reduced to the basics of developing a product idea, implementing it based on the final outcome and disregarding if it meets or exceed consumer expectations.

“The measurements taken by metrics and the insights provided by analytics enable product teams to make informed decisions about upgrading product functionality or adding capabilities. Without measuring and analyzing the results, they would have no idea if the revisions implemented are effective or even necessary. They would be flying blind. -” Monty G. Myers, founder and CEO of Eureka Software Solutions, Inc.

This takes us to the following point that tackles five key roles of analytics in product development and management.

• Product Viability: at this stage, data verifies the product concepts, helps developers test and adjust to speed up the product design and launch process.
• Informed product decision-making: information become more objective, reliable, and faster.
• Product progress measurement:  product analytics can inform team members about which features are working and which are not by creating a reliable road-map that assesses the product at all stages.
• User experience insights: data analytics are used to understand why consumers are buying their product and how they are using it. Some businesses can take this a step further to be able to find out why their consumers might opt for a competitive product instead of theirs.
• Product development inspiration: analytics can launch a new innovation or help an existing product remain viable for an extended period of time, especially with the rise of new competition leveraging the latest technologies.

Where Does Big Data Fit Into All of This?

Some industries use big data to make data-backed decisions that influence their campaign strategy for the better. The reason why big data is making the right noise is that:

• New product development involves substantial trial and error. Big data takes the guess work out and also helps develops products that are feasible through active management.
• If the Research & Development team is at a dead end, not being able to provide conclusions for important corporate decisions, big data focuses on the right data to be studied and reduces the time spent on product development.
• Another advantage of big data is that it analyses information in real-time which saves time and effort which leads to faster decision making and better ideas for new product development concepts.

Can Data Analytics Be Handled by Anyone?

Well… not exactly. While some marketers are still stuck in their traditional ways, others are thriving by diving into the digital world and learning how to gather and analyze the right data that will serve their digital marketing strategy. And a double degree in “Digital Marketing & Data Analytics”  is just what is needed to put digital marketers on the right track.

Marketing profiles have been dissected over the years, to the point where each sub-speciality has been evolving at a rapid pace. For digital marketers, the responsibility has doubled because not only do they have to answer to corporate expectations but also predict the needs of their target audience by gathering as much information as possible. Relevant information of course. For them to be fully equipped and ready,  this double diploma offered by EMLV business school in Paris is at the core needs of today’s companies. Professionals today need to be fluent in both marketing and computing languages.

The programme focuses on basic programming languages to ensure that students have strong technical and computer science skills. Students will also learn front-end and back-end development and later move to the impact of web development on digital marketing, which enables them to understand and speak the language of many industry professionals of various sectors such as research, user experience, customer service, product developers, web/app developers, and marketing strategists.

Learn more about the double diploma EMLV-IIM in Digital Marketing and Data Analytics: the best of a business school and a digital school to train the marketers of tomorrow.