[Report] Generational Trends Report

How have consumer behaviors and preferences changed across different generations? Find out in our latest report.

Read the report

GUIDE

The Analyst of 2020

What do analysts need to succeed in 2020?

GUIDEThe Analyst of 2020
Share

2020 will bring with it new data sources and new ways to analyze them – it’ll be both an exciting and a turbulent time for the analyst.

With new skills to learn and realities to get used to (hello, AI), what will analysts and teams of analysts need to thrive in 2020?

Drawing on the thoughts and opinions of over 100 industry professionals, including Insights Leads from the likes of Bayer and Dentsu, we’ll cover:

  • The technological and skills gaps that could be holding analysts back heading into 2020
  • How analysts can bring insights to life in a way that meaningfully impacts their organization
  • The attributes the best analysts have in common

Let’s get started

The tools, data and skills gaps we must bridge

As part of our survey of professionals in our network, we were keen to see how well consumer insights were feeding into business strategy.

We asked our respondents about what was getting in the way of getting to know their customer better, and what tools they thought would be most important for generating these insights in 2020.

More than 50% cited a lack of access to the right data as a blocker, while over a third said that there was a lack of understanding on helpful research in this area.

When we asked them what tools would be needed to best support the generation and distribution of consumer insights, we found that social, search, and survey analysis tools were popular (with 50% or more of the respondents selecting these). Data visualization, which can help spread insights across an organization, was also key.

We found that many of our respondents were conscious of a skills gap that would need to be bridged in 2020. “My team will need to get up to speed regarding AI, machine learning, and strengthen their data mining skills in order to provide better, more accurate insights into customers,” says Angela Hill, who’s CEO at branding and marketing agency Incitrio.

Sedale McCall, Director, Analytics at The Glover Park Group echoed this need for the continued development of data analytics skills: “I think the trend towards taking in mass amounts of data and making it meaningful will never go away. Data science is a path toward being effective in our industry.”

Meanwhile, Dentsu’s Tallita Alves calls for the combination of the right data, skills, and tools to enrich consumer insights.

How can we enrich consumer insights with the combination of prompted and unprompted real-time data? We are living with an excess of data.... How we can innovate strategy with digital consumer intelligence blended with creative thinking?
— Tallita Alves, Strategy Director & Insights Lead at Dentsu

Regardless of organization size or industry, bridging the data, technology, and skills gaps that are preventing analysts from better understanding the consumer should be a priority in 2020.

Creating a meangingful impact with insights

Facilitating the generation of insights, as outlined above, is only valuable if those insights can be acted upon within the organization.

There's no ROI on an insight unless you do something about it.
— Bex Carson, Chief Product Officer at Brandwatch

The challenge here is both personal and technological. Analysts must have the confidence to share these insights company-wide and to elevate their impact. They must also have the platforms, both metaphorically and through the right tech, to do so.

Without the right set up and skills, insights can become trapped. That’s not conducive practice for businesses looking to innovate and win in 2020.

Bayer’s Andy Schaul speaks to one part of this when he talks about what’s challenging him in 2020. Without the right organizational set up to react to insights, the impact of analysts’ work can be stunted.

One of the biggest obstacles I see heading into 2020 is not related to data, technology, or analytical methods but rather is related to building internal capacity for changing strategies, investments, and behaviors based on insights generated by this work.
— Andy Schaul, Global Insights Lead at Bayer

Chief Consultant at Social Dividend Global Elliot Polak agrees, saying: “No matter how spot on, “insights” that don’t lead to action aren’t insights. It’s a waste of time and money to listen to data, analyze patterns and make recommendations, if the internal organization can’t put in practice.”

Mike Stevens thinks there’s a lot of work to be done both in terms of organizational processes and training to get the most out of our analysts and the best possible insights.

Old style research teams are not transforming quickly enough; new data sources like social and digital analytics are owned by teams with narrow, tactical agendas; data integration is being led by people with a technical agenda, not a strategic customer view. And there's not enough good training to build the insight professionals of tomorrow.
— Mike Stevens, Founder of Insight Platforms

The attributes the best analysts have in common

The analysts that will help organizations succeed in 2020 will need to be more than just technically skilled individuals.

Drawing on conversations and survey responses with industry professionals, there are two key attributes that the best kinds of analysts have – curiosity and hunger to drive change.

Curiosity

One of the most important attributes Brandwatch looks for in analysts is curiosity, and it’s that willingness to dive deeper, to follow rabbit holes, and to find unexpected results that helps our Strategy and Insights team deliver so much value.

You can’t teach someone to be curious... We have people in the team from all different backgrounds – social science, mathematics, business administration, and psychology to name a few. We're really varied in terms of experience and academic profile. And we’ve had people who are really successful but have no previous social experience – experience with social media data is not a pre requisite.
— Ed Crook, Global VP, Reseearch at Brandwatch

Katie Greenlaw, Director of Public Relations at Rinck Advertising, agrees that curiosity is key to generating great insights. She told us: “In order to generate or work with the best consumer insights in 2020, the skills you need are strategic analysis, open-mindedness, critical thinking…it’s important to think like a detective and see where the “clues” (insights) lead you and ask questions about them. What are the insights saying? Why do you think that is? Can you counter that insight? Can you look at the data a different way? These are all helpful in gaining the strongest insights.”

A hunger to drive change

Calling back to what we said above in the ‘Insights to action’ section, the best analysts are those that know the value of their insights and are able to communicate that value company wide.

Traditionally, ‘analyst’ sounds like a much more back seat role. But it’s becoming a more outward facing one. I’m seeing job descriptions focus more and more on both being comfortable with data and talking about it... The difference between a good data analyst and a bad data analyst is the ability to know what problem they are solving. A good analyst wants to drive change, a bad analyst will just throw data at a problem. We get a lot of people applying who can structure data, but not leverage it.
— Adam Brons-Smith, Product Manager at Brandwatch

Both curiosity and the passion to drive change are excellent attributes to look for in an analyst (regardless of what kind of analysis they’re going to be doing). We’re often asked about hiring the best analysts for social data, so here’s a quick cheat sheet if that’s something you’re interested in:

We’d like to thank everyone who’ve contributed to these insights, including the folks we’ve included throughout this piece:

Falcon.io is now part of Brandwatch.
You're in the right place!

Existing customer?Log in to access your existing Falcon products and data via the login menu on the top right of the page.New customer?You'll find the former Falcon products under 'Social Media Management' if you go to 'Our Suite' in the navigation.

Paladin is now Influence.
You're in the right place!

Brandwatch acquired Paladin in March 2022. It's now called Influence, which is part of Brandwatch's Social Media Management solution.Want to access your Paladin account?Use the login menu at the top right corner.