If a business was Westeros, the ‘data throne’ was certainly conquered by the CEO of ‘House Targaryen, the First of their Name, and the rightful ruler over the Seven Kingdoms.’
In one fell swoop, he or she united the Kingdoms and brought peace to the realm, protected by dragons and the financial support of the ‘Data Banks of Braavos’. Their goal is simply to rule with absolute power; keep the ‘King’s peace’ in all the Kingdoms and use analytics to develop customer retention strategies that ensure the ‘free folk’ support them instead of an illegitimate competitor.
Under the CEO’s rule are ‘Seven Kingdoms’ with many great and noble ‘Houses’. Most businesses would include ‘House’ Finance, Sales, Marketing, HR, Operations, PR and IT – each has access to its own consumer data sources. Although they cannot succeed without the other, they are more often than not competing against each other with differing facts to satisfy their own desires and KPI’s; even breaking their oaths to the CEO to claim more land and power.
The CEO depends on the customer data provided by the great ‘Houses’ in order to act upon informed decisions from all the facts to maintain peace and prosperity. However, they do not always tell the truth. Toxic data, or ‘bastards’ rise within each noble ‘House’. Although they may not pose a threat in small amounts, the ruler must be aware of the power of ‘King’s blood’ and the potential damage it can cause. The CEO must convince the Seven Kingdoms to move away from the ‘Old Gods’ and put their faith in the one true God, the ‘Lord of Light and quality data.’
Not everyone is aware of the dangers that threaten the existence of the realm. The ‘North remembers the King in the North’ and stays true to the words of ‘House Stark’ – ‘Winter is Coming’; marketers know beyond the wall social media is rising up the ‘white walkers’ and building an endless army of followers. And across the seas three dragons are growing in size, iPhones, Androids and Tablets…the hour has come for the CEO to make better use of customer insights to stabilise and unite the fractured Kingdoms.
“In the game of data you either win or die”
The free folk can interact with all of the noble ‘Houses’ face to face, send ‘ravens’ with direct messages, research and buy using a PC or mobile, make phone calls, send emails and engage with the brand through multiple channels throughout the realm. Opinions change within seconds to whoever holds the right voice for the people to gain their support and trust.
The speed of communication has amplified us into a digital era dependent on knowledge…knowledge of ourselves, enemies, competitors, and the people gives the CEO access to a ‘sorcerous horn’ and unrivalled power to control the three dragons in their favour and gain a competitive advantage over their enemies.
“A single army, a real army of data sources united behind one leader with one purpose”
It is up to the CEO to ensure the ‘Houses’ maintain their loyalty and share the same ambitions to succeed, and the systems are in place to process and gather as much customer data to act upon and protect the realm from the enemies beyond the wall and across the narrow seas.
With a united Kingdom containing quality data ‘books’ stored in the ‘citadel’ warehouse. The CEO can then order the Maesters or data architects to play and experiment with ‘wildfire’ and apply advanced analytics to make visions of the past and future appear in the flames of a single dashboard and understand the need for dragon glass to defeat the ‘White Walkers.’
So Who Will Win the ‘Data Throne?’
Think it is safe to say it won’t be the ‘Starks’…
As ‘Old Nan’ says without customer data management, customer intelligence and customer analytics…you cannot extract customer insights…you simply either become the ‘Mad King’ and collapse into nothing, or you become the ‘Mother of Dragons’ and establish a business dynasty that could last a thousand years.
Although here at Acrotrend we have come close to a ‘Red Wedding’, Game of Thrones is fictional and you won’t need to stab anyone in the back, slice their throat, chop their head, or chop their head off, or squash their head with your bare hands to get quality data and start extracting valuable customer insights to claim the DATA throne…