Is It Time to Hire a Chief Data Officer?

In today’s technology driven environment, nearly every organization finds themselves handling more data than ever the last few months … let alone the last 5 years.

No matter the industry, data is shaping the business trajectory of those industries. It's astonishing to see the power of data in today's world. Data helps an organization gain a deeper understanding of key areas such as:

• Customer buying behaviors
• Where to focus new innovative products and services,
• Operational efficiency to improve competitiveness
• As a protection mechanism for the businesses against risk,

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The event’s industry is no different.  In fact, today’s event organizer has the challenge, and opportunity, of being responsible for loads of data.  The challenge is knowing what to do with it, the opportunity is being able to parse the data for meaningful insights and activations to increase attendance and revenue at their events.

Data is often at the center of internal digital transformation discussions, and for those who have undergone their transformation assessments – the topic of a Chief Data Officer has come up.

In fact, many industry giants are already hiring their first Chief Data Officer (CDO).

From data management to creating data strategy and ensuring data quality, the Chief Data Officer is the person every event organizer needs to lead their data-driven journey. Let's take a brief look into this startling new role.

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What is a Chief Data Officer?

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An event organizer is responsible for

• Planning,
• Managing,
• And executing a perfect event.

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A Chief Data Officer is responsible for administering, designing, and managing the data strategy and operations.

The single goal of a CDO is to pivot prime business value and utilize the organization's data to identify new opportunities or threats. A CDO does this by,

• Providing both internal and external stakeholders with relevant, data-driven insights,
• Helping to understand information volume and flow between departments,
• Managing logical consolidation across the IT infrastructure,
• Evaluation of how departments are processing and analyzing data,
• Holding expertise in digital marketing, supply chain management, customer relationship management, and analytics.
• Staying focused on changing data privacy regulations,

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The role of a CDO is broad, integrative, and required to build strong relationships with all stakeholders. And effectively communicate the impact of embracing data-driven operations.

According to Gartner, organizations where CDOs are involved in digital transformation are more effective in increasing business value and more likely to surpass innovation.

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What Can a Chief Data Officer Do For An Event Organization?

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If you're considering hiring a Chief Data Officer for your event organization, here are some ways the CDO can create value to your business:

• CDOs will drive revenue from the breakdown of customer engagement data – better understanding you customer leads to better conversions.
• Create data-driven marketing by implementing robust data architecture – more efficient marketing means reduced churn and higher revenue per marketing dollar.
• Improve brand awareness and increase customer acquisition by data reporting – fostering an environment where your community drives referrals, awareness, and helps define the experience.
• Improve efficiency through analytics and insight into successful events – measuring what is working and losing what isn’t.
• Assist in adapting to customers' needs – outcompete in an increasing competitive event marketplace.

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How To Make the Business Case To Hire A CDO For Your Organization?

Due to the pandemic, many event organizers are ill-equipped with leveraging data due to massive turn-over and retiring people. Hiring a CDO is a good and useful option for your event organization as,

• CDOs employed in only 12% of companies in 2012 are now hired by 65% of companies. (NewVantage Partners' "2021 Big Data and AI Executive Survey")
• According to a report presented by Doug Laney, a data and analytics innovation fellow,

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• CDOs are seven times more likely to develop external monetary value from an organization's data.
• Four times more likely to utilize the data to transform their business.
• Three times more likely to generate different types of commercial data by freely sharing data across the business.

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Hiring a Chief Data Officer is one of the best options an event organizing company can consider.  Is your organization next?