Opinion Sexy data: getting over your top five hang-ups

By Erin Williams

So you think data is sexy? Who can blame you? Who can refute data’s beguiling mystery and power? Data can improve click-through and conversion rates, solve design dilemmas, and justify— even add to— your marketing budget. Pretty hot stuff.

Yes, it’s 2010, and data is the new black. So take your dusty old hang-ups about data “killing your creativity” out of the closet and toss them in the Goodwill bin.

Not sure what needs to go? Read on.

Hang-up #1: Data kills creativity

Data is actually a great way to challenge assumptions. Which means that data is every creative’s friend. Say a client wants all the buttons on their site to be blue, because that’s their company colour. But creatively, your senses tingle with red buttons. If a red button— or an orange button or a purple button— increased website conversions by 3% and you could prove it, guess what? You’d get red buttons. And probably get asked for your creativity more often.

Data is also a great rebuttal when a client gets nervous about your brand-spanking new idea. Because the bottom line is that the client wants results. And the same-old, same-old doesn’t get tweeted about. Or hit the front page of The Huffington Post. Or get 500,000+ views on YouTube and other video channels. Which is what happened with this risqué Ice Creamy Goodness spot for Science World. But you need the numbers to demonstrate the impact of your innovative work. Otherwise, all you’ve got is a crazy idea.

Hang-up #2: Data destroys good design

So I’m guessing you recognize the link between function and design. Even though you might cringe when you hear the words “best practices.” Online, the relationship between the two is easily measurable. So data can actually support and even enhance your design.

Take A/B testing. Also known as split testing, A/B testing is the simple task of comparing two options for creative, copy, positioning, functionality, or what have you. There’s virtually no limit to what can be A/B tested and improved. The science is in serving up the two options equally and in determining when there’s actionable data— information you can use to refine or eliminate design options. And there are dozens of tools to help you do that, like Google Website Optimizer.

Look at this A/B test for a lowly 404 page for Mountain Equipment Co-Op. See how much more attractive the “winning” page is? And how much more effective?

And check out some data on landing-page optimization sometime. No, really, do it. This improved landing page design for Rudder resulted in a 45.5% increase in orders. Hot!

If you’ve got lots of ideas you’d like to test out (and lots of traffic), you can do a multivariate test; that is, see which combination of options delivers the best results. Top websites like Amazon.com are constantly refining their pages this way. 

Remember: if data truly killed good design, that data-and-design love child, the infographic, would never have been born.

Hang-up #3: Data is confusing

Data isn’t confusing: unclear goals are confusing. So if your reports don’t make sense, it’s possible you’re not asking the right questions or haven’t clarified your objectives.

Data isn’t a superhero. It can’t do all the work on its own. It needs you to do the analysis and take action. Automated reports that show you what you’re supposed to care about never answer the critical questions, like “So what?” Without human analysis, all of those website metrics, ROI calculators, click-through-rates, pie charts, and bar graphs are just another data dump. It’s up to you to analyze the info. And then take the next step, answering the “Now what?”

There are also great tools to help you collect and analyze data, like Google Analytics, Hub Spot and clickdensity. So even if you’re not a numbers person, you can get the answers you need from the data you’ve got.

Hang-up #4: Data is misleading

Actually, there’s a lot of truth to this one. These days, it seems you can find data to prove or disprove anything.

But if you’re comparing apples and apples (and have adequate apples), your data should tell a concise story and lead to data-driven decisions. Once you’ve identified your key performance indicators, or KPIs, you set your benchmarks. Then, in a month’s time (or a week, or a day, depending on the size and pace of your business), see if your efforts have moved the needle up or down. That’s when analysis comes in: figure out why things changed for the better or the worse, and make recommendations for improvement. Then, test your assumptions. It’s a lather-rinse-repeat cycle of continuous improvement— in other words, optimization.

You could do worse than be misled by data, by the way. Design also gets misconstrued, by committees and executives. Good data can keep your discussions objective and keep you focused on outcomes. And good data— the kind that hones in on results and actions— helps with accountability and transparency. Which is totally the opposite of misleading.

Hang-up #5: Data is boring

Data dumps are boring, but measurable outcomes shouldn’t be boring to anyone in an organization. If you’re delivering actionable data along with your analytic insights, you’re helping your organization do a better job, drive return on investment, increase revenues, build brand loyalty, etc.,— all those things they hired you to do, albeit with your creative talents and not a calculator.

And if you want to bust out the sex panther for the stakeholders, click overlays and heatmaps always get a great response in presentations.

Sexy, huh?

So, looking at data’s 29 dimensions of compatibility with creativity and design, it seems they’re the ideal couple. An attractive balance of beauty and brains— made for each other, and greater than the sum of their parts.

But what do you think? Is data Hot or Not? Can it kill your creative? Have you had a design canned because it didn’t conform to best practices? Or have you used data to back up an out-there concept? We’d love to hear about your love or hate relationship with the numbers side of the biz.

Posted on January 26th by Erin Williams, online strategist at Rethink Communications in Vancouver.

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