The data is not the story
Have you ever delivered an enthusiastic marketing update to stakeholders, only to feel crestfallen when they ask, “Is that good?”
Or listened to a campaign report filled with various channel metrics pointing out how it exceeded industry benchmarks by X %, while you wonder if this is in fact helping your goals?
Or overheard a discussion of why a link in an e-newsletter only got so many clicks, while knowing it’s probably unknowable?
If so, you’re on the right track.
In this time when ‘data-driven decision-making’ is revered by organizational leaders in every industry and sector, there’s pressure for marketers at all levels to use metrics to understand impact, tune their tactics, and demonstrate value. And it may be this pressure that makes us tend to favor what can be easily quantified, with the assumption that if it can be counted, it is more credible. But sometimes it can come at the expense of true understanding.
Sure, it’s easier to manage what you can easily measure; but is that measurable thing the goal? Or is it at best an indicator or signal on the way towards that goal?
This is why we need to keep the big picture in mind even as we focus on the small details. Zoom out: what’s at stake? Who are you trying to reach, and why? In what context, at what cost? What really matters — and how will you know when you’ve succeeded? Most would call this your strategy, but you could also call it the story.
The change you are trying to make, the problem you are trying to solve, the job to be done–is the story, and what we can easily lose sight of if we succumb to metrics myopia. You may have a lot of good details at your disposal, but they don’t all matter equally, and your audience certainly doesn’t need, or even want, all of them. They only need enough to engage with your story.
It’s true that data is more important than ever. It creates more solid ground for any strategy, can give you incisive, addressable feedback, and tell you if you are moving in the right direction (or not). But it must be considered in the larger context of what you’re pursuing.
Otherwise, you can end up chasing the wrong proxies and find yourself tuning those tactics based on what might be easily measurable, but not necessarily meaningful. It’s less about “Is that good?” and more about identifying the right signals that can guide you toward success. And that gets a lot easier when we’re all clear about what success, or even just progress, looks like.
Having more data than ever at our fingertips has certainly made things more measurable, but also more confusing. The abundance of metrics can muddy the water about what matters most: the story that connects your work to its purpose and your audience to its meaning. I don’t think audiences necessarily want more data, but they do need a story they can trust, and data can help that.
When your data serves your strategy–and not the other way around–you don’t just create a report; you create understanding. You don’t just hit benchmarks; you hit goals that matter. And when that happens, your audience won’t need to ask, “Is that good?” They’ll already know.
