Digital Analytics is thriving in Australia, and the team here at Digital Balance love to jump at any opportunity to meet like-minded data geeks who like to call analytics home. We were lucky enough to catch up with Moe Kiss for a chat about all things analytics, gush over our favourite new platforms, and swap tag management horror stories. Moe is an analytics enthusiast and Product Analyst/Digital Analytics specialist at online fashion retailer THE ICONIC. You can find more of Moe at http://www.moekiss.com/
Apart from obvious passion for excel – What got you into Analytics?
I am interested in people, which is why I first became an analyst. I enjoy understanding why people think what they do. While already an analyst, I moved into digital analytics after my partner was transferred to Sydney (from Canberra) and I needed to pursue career options outside government.
My sister and numerous friends worked in the analytics community and I saw how people shared knowledge and helped each other out. Check out measure slack if you ever have an analytics question – it’s incredible. That community spirit is very important to me, so I started looking for analytics jobs. The great thing is, I still get to follow my passion of understanding what people DO, using data.
What is the most exciting thing or insight you’ve found in data that you think could dramatically impact a marketing strategy?
In my view the most exciting new work is cross device analysis. Being embedded in our product team, I have realised how looking at user journeys as distinct and separate across different devices just doesn’t work anymore. We regularly have customers who browse on our app at night and then convert at work on their desktop the next day. Ensuring you understand the interplay through cross device analysis is key for any marketing or product strategy.
What’s your favourite platform and why? (i.e GA, Tableau etc)
I believe in being tool agnostic – what I mean by that, is that as analysts we can’t believe there is one tool which is superior. We need to be able to use multiple systems and this is in our best interests. The best tool for the right job. I use a mix of R, tableau, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, SQL, excel and Snowplow depending on the task. The best bit about being an analyst is that we always get to keep learning new tools and faster ways to do things.
What do you want to do less of?
That would be explaining why data on different platforms won’t match up. There is a stakeholder expectation that different tools will give you the same numbers and as an analyst you know that will never happen!
What do you think are some of the biggest issues in data and analytics in Australia?
Thinking with a customer lens, the most exciting problem is finding better ways to personalise an experience for a customer while also protecting their privacy.
When you are talking data to non-data people, what techniques or tools do you like to use to take them on that journey?
This is a skill that is always evolving for me. At a conference Joe Lynch from the BBC said to me that analytics is about telling a story with data, not number crunching and it has stayed with me (to the point that it’s now framed behind my desk!). My top tip is to buy yourself a copy of Nancy Duarte’s book “Slide:ology.” That absolutely changed the way that I communicated data and built presentations. The other advice is to leave yourself time for data visualisation – that is super important in making sure people understand what you are recommending.
As universities haven’t kept up to pace with our industry, what training have you had prior to moving into analytics?
I actually learnt on the fly. I have written a blog on what I found useful when I started in analytics but building a website and tagging it is a great start (Google also offers courses you can watch). I also recommend finding out what tools your prospective employer uses and do a crash course. Coursera was a resource I lived on. Lastly, use the community (via slack or stack overflow) to help, but only once you are sure you can’t find the answer through blogs and reading yourself – nothing is worse than receiving a LMGTFY link…
Thanks again to Moe Kiss for joining us and sharing her words of wisdom. You can find Moe all across the digital sphere, including www.moekiss.com.
Read more – 5 Tips For Thriving as a Woman in Analytics