Time to do away with Business Intelligence

Hi, my name is Shahar and I don’t think BI people should exist. What? No “I love you Shahar” in reply? That’s the worst AA (Anonymous Anti-BI) meeting I have ever been to. So what’s the reason behind my statement? I mean, everybody loves the BI guys. Not physically, of course, as you know—they could pass also for BO as well, but yeah, they give us data!

And what would you do in this info-hungry industry of ours without data? I mean, if you are following my articles here, you would know at this point how much I value reports, real-time and accurate analysis, so how can I say such a thing? A. because I am a consultant, I can pretty much say whatever I want, and B. the problem isn’t with Data Analysts as people. Yes, some of them look as if they try to justify the term BIG DATA in real life, but let’s not judge people’s contribution to our work and their level of professionalism according to their external looks. I mean, it’s not like we are Affiliate Account Managers, are we?  

So what could be the problem? As always, it starts with the defiled combination between Marketing and Management. Yes, each word on its own can involuntarily relieve you of your latest meal (for those of you who still stick to solid food—I am on an espresso/vodka diet, thank you very much; yes, mostly vodka, true that), yet combined they send chills down anybody’s corporate spine. Known for doing little, bragging a lot, and blaming IT for everything, these two species have been taking over every successful company and making them spend beyond their means on branding and Facebook ads. Ever heard someone in your company starting a speech with “our core values…”? Are you still talking with this person? Exactly.  

Marketing people and managers can’t do much. Who has time for work with all of those harassment lawsuits? So they ask the data guys to tell them what their views on what’s going on are:

• Are the KPIs good enough for this time of the month? (they are OK, but we could spend fewer bonuses on the mass crowd and save some money for the Payday Promo on the 4th week)

• Is it OK that we have so much money deposited by VIPs? (No, it’s not—send them everything back… Seriously, they are VIPs—what else do you expect them to do? Yodel in Kitzbühel?)

• Should I first read the graphic novel before picking up on “The Watchers”? (THE HELL YOU SHOULD!)

(In fact, regardless of the question, the answer should be yes, first stop and read the comic) (Unless the question is “do you still have Salt & Vinegar Pringles in your mini-bar?”, and it’s late enough during an iGaming conference party; in that case, answer “sure”, and call me for guidance on your next move)

And once the analysts provide them with the info, and right before spending the entire annual hospitality budget at the bar across the street while mimicking K-pop moves on TikTok, comes the next question. Now, imagine someone in a smart suit (from Primark), adopting an authoritative voice, saying: “and what do YOU think we should do, based on this data?”

Clearly, as BI usually sits together with the operational team (GO CRM), they are quite familiar with what’s going on, what the system capabilities are, what’s planned, and what has been proven to work in the past. Based on a fairly realistic deduction of the above, Mr. BI (or Mrs. BI—Female Analysts Kicks Ass[QL]!) can probably provide an answer that is at least good enough to be considered as a valid plan—if not more than that.

HIT PAUSE! Data nerds (and nerd ladies) are now in charge of our future tactics instead of just reporting the past and current stats? Yes, that’s what usually happens. Most likely during those marketing sessions, in which your operational strategy is being determined, BI will not only deliver numbers but will also be questioned for their opinions on what steps to take. Since they control the flow of information, their feedback will have a crucial weight in the decision-making process.  

Is it their fault? No. I blame lazy CMOs (for some reason, the auto-correction tool just highlighted this last expression, suggesting I should “Delete Repeated Words”). But let’s take an objective review of what’s on the table: we have data guys who should report on what they see, and we have marketing people who should take this info and form a plan to resolve the spotted issues. However, we have already established the fact that managers are often in their position solely because they come from the same native country as the lead investors, and as such they want someone smart to decide on what needs to be done. Now, in most cases, BI guys are indeed the smartest people in the room. But they lack any marketing know-how or operational hands-on experience. This can easily result in half-baked conclusions, and these are never good (much like leaving your coat at the cloakroom during ICE—it will be late before the queue for getting it back will end).  

How do you prevent this from occurring? Hire a consultant. I might know someone… but what this bright, sexy-beyond-our-mortal-grasp-as-humans person with a funny accent will say, is that you simply don’t need Data Analysts. You need a data management platform that could ease accessing info in a way so dumb, that even marketing people could use it. Along with the colorful charts and all. Once you view your DB Full Monty, there’s no way back. People will learn to search the database on their own (well, CMOs will still hire someone to do it for them; heard of positions such as “Project Managers” or “Marketing Executives”? Welcome to the Excel jungle, baby), and get answers to their questions—so they will be able to put their expensive diploma into good use. In time, them including “ROI” in every sentence won’t sound that stupid anymore.  

Previously, I have talked about real-time marketing automation systems as a must. If you can find a technological solution that can also feed you with accurate data, then you will end up having a holistic single-person factory: reviewing the stats, identifying problems, crafting a solution, and implementing a procedure to prevent future repetition upon detected triggers. Now that’s proper marketing.

So what would our beloved BI ladies do? Free from handling tasks they were never supposed to do, now they will have enough time to scan the activity, noticing trends that you can’t observe by sorting the list according to GGR, descending. In other words, conducting proper analysis. And the BI guys? Sorry, I am under a strict word-count limit by the editor, and I am out of quota (which is a response they are used to getting anyways, after running a demanding query, or while hitting on girls).