I’m Google Analytics Qualified & You Should Be Too
At the start of the year I set myself several SMART objectives and I’m pleased to say that I’ve now achieved the first. Over the weekend I took, and passed the Google Analytics Individual Qualification (IQ).
Regular readers of SWT will know that I’m a big advocate of adopting a data driven approach to every strand of marketing and have argued for many years now for greater emphasis on analytics and data. Indeed, digital marketing’s greatest strength is the masses of data it creates which can help us target wins with more accuracy. But data is not insight.
Tools spew out numbers, whereas analysts craft insights. Most agencies have dedicated ‘analysts’ or analytical teams, but few organisations take a genuinely ‘data-first’ approach. It’s typically an add-on.
My view is that if you want to thrive and not just survive in the age of big data, you simply must take a ‘data-first’ approach. Organisations in the future will need to foster a culture and mindset of ‘data-first’. Those which fail to grasp this concept will be left behind in what is an increasingly data driven digital world.
We need marketing mathematicians that operate in much the same way as business analysts. There’s a genuine requirement for people in digital marketing who can interpret multiple data sets, draw firm conclusions and craft strategic insights.
It is this unwaivering belief that we’re moving towards an increasingly data driven world which inspired me to try and reach some form of industry benchmark in the form of the Google Analytics Individual Qualification.
