Is Your Business Really Ready for AI?
Have you ever felt like Andy Dwyer, the loveable goofball from NBC’s Parks and Rec? It’s a lighthearted way to frame a very real question on many peoples minds:
You're focused on running your core business, but you’re wondering, “How, if, or when should we be using AI?”
The truth is, the answer won’t come in just one newsletter. That’s because the more important question isn’t how to use AI—it’s, “Is my business even ready for AI in the first place?”
This is a deeper dive into a topic introduced in the Black Antler AIM framework. The section we’re diving into is around data and analytics maturity.
Click below to get the Black Antler AIM Framework and register for the “Occasional” Monthly Newsletter. 😉
AI requires good foundation and processes to make it meaningful, sustainable, and practical for any business.
You’ve hired smart data people. You’ve invested in modern tools. You’ve supported initiatives that promised to make your organization data-driven. And yet… decisions still rely on instinct. Data feels disconnected from the business. Progress is fragile and slow.
You’re not alone—and you're not doing anything wrong. The truth is about 75% of organizations are still in the starting blocks and wondering where and how to is the right spot for them to get started.
The next level up comprises of about 20% of companies that are investing in data and analytics to scale to support new products or changing customer demands.
An example is Nike who’s traditional model involved producing shoes and clothing and using wholesale partnerships to reach consumers. Starting in 2017, Nike predicted a change in the wholesale to retail market coming and decided to invest in direct to consumer business model. Among the many other business strategy shifts that came with this decision, they realized they needed to invest in data too.
Nike invested in building a Customer Data Product, Invested in Advanced Analytics technology for dynamic pricing, inventory management, and demand forecasting, and lastly acquired in house data talent by acquiring Zodiac, an analytics startup to strengthen their efforts. These investments in data turned into a competitive advantage that allowed Nike to weather the retail disruptions, create a new digital revenue stream, and gain tighter control over the brand, their customer relationships, and improve their margins.
The remaining 5% of companies are the masters in monetizing data and are known as the ”digital natives.” They’ve created a competitive advantage with data that is so synonymous with their business strategy, it’s almost as if they have no data strategy at all. It’s not realistic to set out to achieve this!
Amazon is a leading example here. Not just a online retailer, or streaming service, or web services, or 2nd largest logistics company... you get the idea, they are in many business. Amazon has the data culture that says data drives every major business function. Every product team has an embedded data scientist or analysts. They work backwards from the customer using by understanding behaviors data at every touchpoint.
The payoff has been huge as they have a rapid speed to market and rapid awareness to failure. They enjoy exceptionally high customer retention, high personalization for their products across multiple platforms, and continually look to use data to gain efficiency to reduce costs, or add a new revenue stream.
If you’ve read this far, hopefully, you’re at least at peace knowing there are far more business that align with Andy Dwyers quote than there are who align with Amazon in the business world. And that’s okay. If you’re unsure where to start—or still too afraid to ask—reach out. We can help with a conversation and review the opportunities within your business.
