Companies are constantly seeking innovative ways to leverage their data assets to create value. Among the various strategies, Data Wrapping has emerged as a powerful approach, frequently utilized to enhance customer experience and drive business growth. Let's delve into the concept of Data Wrapping, its characteristics, and how it can be effectively employed to create tangible value.
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The Three Uses of Data: Improving, Wrapping, and Selling Data Solutions
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1. Improving: This internal-focused approach involves using data to enhance operational efficiency, streamline processes, and make better business decisions. It's all about making internal improvements that lead to better outcomes.
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2. Wrapping: Data Wrapping, on the other hand, is customer-centric. It involves integrating data and analytics into products and services to create added value for customers at various points along their journey. This can be achieved through Data Wraps, Insight Wraps, and Action Wraps.
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3. Selling Data Solutions: This approach focuses on monetizing data by offering data-driven solutions directly to customers. It's about turning data into a product that customers can buy.

Among these, Data Wrapping is the second most value creating data initiative after improving.
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Characteristics of Great Data Wraps‍

Great Data Wraps share common characteristics that make them effective and valuable to customers:
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• Anticipate: They foresee customer needs and preferences, offering proactive solutions.
• Adapt: They are flexible and evolve based on customer feedback and changing needs.
• Advise: They provide actionable insights and recommendations to customers.
• Act: They enable immediate and informed actions based on the data.

Creating Value from Data Wraps‍

Data Wrapping can create significant value for both customers and the business. Here’s how:
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1. Enhancing Customer Experience: By integrating data insights into products, companies can provide personalized and relevant experiences to their customers.
2. Driving Customer Engagement: Engaging customers with data-driven insights can increase loyalty and satisfaction.
3. Facilitating Decision-Making: Actionable data helps customers make informed decisions quickly.

A Concrete Example: Using Data Wrapping to Drive Value‍

Consider a retail company that uses Data Wrapping to enhance its customer loyalty program. By integrating purchase history, browsing behavior, and demographic data, the company creates a personalized shopping experience for each customer.
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• Data Wrap: Offers personalized discounts and promotions based on past purchases.
• Insight Wrap: Provides customers with insights into their spending habits and product preferences.
• Action Wrap: Sends real-time notifications about sales and restocks of favorite items.

This approach not only boosts sales but also increases customer loyalty and satisfaction.

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Realizing Value from Data Wrapping‍

To truly realize value from Data Wrapping, companies need to focus on both creating monetary value and enhancing customer value. This involves several key capabilities:
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1. Data Management: Ensuring data is accurate, integrated, and accessible.
2. Data Platform: Leveraging advanced technologies for data processing and analytics.
3. Data Science: Employing robust reporting and statistical analysis techniques.
4. Customer Understanding: Making sense of customer data to derive meaningful insights.
5. Ownership of Wrapping Initiatives: Assigning responsibility to the owners of the initiatives that will be enhanced.

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Questions to Ask‍

To assess and enhance your Data Wrapping initiatives, consider these questions:
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• Which of your offerings could be enhanced with data and analytics?
• Would you need to partner with your customers to identify value creation opportunities?
• Consider any wraps you already have: how well do they anticipate, adapt, or act?
• How do you realize value from your existing wraps?
• Do you have cost metrics to measure that value?
• Looking back, do you have examples of missing capabilities that led to wrapping initiative failures?
• Wrapping initiatives should be owned by the owner of the initiatives that will be enhanced. What will it take to engage owners of your offerings in wrapping initiatives?

Conclusion‍

Data Wrapping is a powerful strategy for leveraging data to enhance customer experiences and drive business growth. By focusing on the characteristics of great wraps and ensuring the necessary capabilities are in place, companies can unlock significant value and stay ahead in the competitive market. Engage with your customers, anticipate their needs, and act on data-driven insights to create a truly impactful and valuable customer experience.

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Book Reference

For a deeper understanding, refer to Data is Everybody’s Business: The Fundamentals of Data Monetization by Barbara Wixom, Cynthia Beath, and Leslie Owens.

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