With the ever-growing volume of data, you may have likely asked yourself, what value is in the data that you haven’t started utilizing yet? And while it’s a valid question, the answer requires systematic methods that don’t distract from real challenges and opportunities. However, with the right mindset and approach, your time can be spent efficiently, thus creating real business value as an outcome. In this article, we provide you with a guide towards the foundation you need to soon turn your domain master data such as marketing/sales, business partner, People & Organization (P&O) and more into value and make the most of programs, like Sherpa X. Let’s find out how and take you on a (data) journey!

Take a moment and ask: Where are my “Points of Value”?

You first need to know each point where data turns into useful information, measurable results and increased business value. These points can be found in your daily business, such as data-driven sales campaigns, actionable employee feedback, targeted marketing efforts, promising business opportunities or reliable financial forecasts. Therefore, it’s important to know how to be best prepared for these moments. We recommend our customers to follow a holistic framework that is designed in three key parts to leverage important points of value:

•Data Strategy: Doing the right things

•Data Excellence: Doing things right

•Data Legacy: Improving existing things

This framework ensures that data is fit-for-use and used most efficiently all while anticipating the most important question: “What’s next?”. With this key framework, there’s no need to ask these questions anymore because you’re guided throughout the journey.

It all starts with Data Strategy

Data doesn’t occur by accident, neither does business success (most of the time). You put effort into strategic planning to define your vision, setting goals and creating measures which lead to your business strategy. This same approach works for data. With your data strategy as a foundation, you know exactly...

•WHERE you want to go (aligned with your business goals)

•HOW you get there (& how the data helps you)

•WHEN you can expect measurable results

Reap the first rewards of your data strategy work at your points of value

Once a data strategy is in place, you are able to now clearly articulate a vision for data and know how to get there by doing the right things. This allows you to stop data related initiatives that don’t support the vision and don’t generate value. Instead, focus your effort on creating new data products (e.g., prospects and customers) and set new standards for data literacy in your team, so that everyone understands how to manage and use data best.For your defined points of value, you now know which data to use and there won’t be any surprises about missing or misunderstood information. The result: Utilize your investment by sending out more targeted campaigns.

Up next: Exploiting the value with a Data Excellence culture

Your last campaign really proved to be successful because you also used new data that was fit-for-use. Now it’s time to start further executing the strategy with a culture of Data Excellence, which means: scoping, implementing and operating concepts to manage, govern and utilize data.

Innovation and excellence are two more things that require a strategic approach, but also careful planning. Having a proven method helps you with finding the best use cases and aids with deciding how to approach them. ChatGPT is everywhere these days, but it is not always the best or most efficient approach – that’s why we at GBS Global Marketing Services (GMS) provide you with solutions that really fit your purpose. For instance, maybe you need a new dashboard, better KPIs, improved automation, or overall, a better tool to perform more. Through the new data quality framework, it´s possible to evaluate the asset’s quality based on the purpose of the data and design targeted measures to improve your goals. Good Data Excellence will empower you to use your data where it makes a significant difference, instead of randomly searching for possible value within your given data.

Take a break and look back (before approaching “Step 3”)

With two of the three steps concluded, you can now take advantage of not only a solid data foundation in terms of people, process and technology, but also utilize the data’s value with new products, cross-collaboration with other domains through Sherpa X, and the latest machine learning models. Here, is where the effort can be reduced by focusing on the right things and staying ahead of the game. Being data-driven is not just a phrase anymore, it has become the bedrock principle of your day-to-day work.

Improving existing things with solid handling of your Data Legacy

The last step in the cycle takes care of your legacy data by either improving or migrating it. Based on the data strategy and use case results, the quality needed can be defined and missing data recognized, leading you to decide where the data resides best. In terms of marketing campaigns, this means that only data will have to be managed in the future that contributes to the success. This focus results in powerful clarity in less systems - with reduced effort and risk.After finishing the last step, you can start to take advantage of the framework’s agility and keep working around your points of value. This allows you to analyze the results and feed them back into the cycle, improving the Data Strategy, Data Excellence and Data Legacy. With each iteration, you solidify your data foundation and extract more value.

To define and implement that approach for leveraging the power of data for your business, Siemens Global Marketing Services provides a broad portfolio along the whole framework and data lifecycle. Whether you’re at the start or want to bring order into the existing system – we’re here for you with solutions that are “fit-for-use” offering support in:

•Data quality management (Define – Measure – Analyze – Improve – Control)

•Data process consulting for a greenfield approach

•Data engineering and automation | Data science & AI

•Sherpa X & Data Mesh consulting (e.g., how to build and manage data products)

Contact us today to start your data journey! We’re ready to transform your data landscape across master data within the Sherpa X domains (e.g. Business Partner, Sales, P&O etc.).

Start your journey together with GBS GMS

Contact: sabrina.wenig@siemens.comFor more information about GMS, please visit our site.