Learn how to use the Impact Matrix in your analytics strategy
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 8:40 am
To begin, let's talk about a very practical, effective and extremely important model for measuring your results: the impact matrix.
The Impact Matrix is nothing more than an effective tool that can help organizations convert strategy into action. Also known as the Performance Matrix, it provides relative positioning for impact on the vertical axis and relative positioning for performance on the horizontal axis.
Continue reading to understand in depth how it works.
About the Impact Matrix
Every strategic action and project proposal requires control over existing data and KPIs so that the extent of your success can be measured. Failure to read and analyze this data leads to a lack of control and a lack of motivation to continue with campaigns, since there is no comparative basis to illustrate how much you succeeded (or failed).
With the help of the matrix it is possible to have access to:
Relative positioning for impact on the vertical axis;
Relative positioning for performance on the horizontal axis;
Organization of actions.
The matrix allows you to organize an analytics project , not based on technical vision, but on the capacity for action. The important thing in the matrix is not the ability to collect, but to understand how the numbers allow for diagnosis and subsequent action.
Differences between horizontal and vertical axis
The horizontal axis of the matrix comes first to show the importance of each indicator and the depth of analysis required for each action, depending on this indicator. This is the relevance of the horizontal axis of the matrix.
On the vertical axis, we visualize the strategic relevance of that indicator within the company. For example, the questions it can answer are:
How much money does it generate?
How much do you save?
How much does action based on that indicator generate or save?
The higher the placement on the vertical axis, the greater the impact of the process on the code number of philippines perception of value. To determine the order of impact, from strongest to weakest, the matrix should be read from top to bottom. Here is a very basic example of an impact matrix:
impact matrix in analytics strategy
Using the example of page views and ROI , to generate money equivalent to a 1 percentage point increase in this indicator during an advertising campaign, it is necessary to increase page views hundreds of times. The vertical axis allows us to see how strategic this data is or how much it helps to redefine the strategy.
The matrix loses its role if it does not help people make decisions, that is its main function ! On the vertical axis we have the hierarchy scale of the company's operation, and on the horizontal axis we have the response time, as well as the impact window that an action taken in the real operation will have on the same metric.
Data needs to be presented in the most understandable way possible: whether it’s a simple sentence in an email or an elaborate dashboard. By combining the two axes of the matrix, it’s possible to understand what type of analysis needs to be done to make a decision. The higher up the matrix the data is, the greater the impact and costs.
The importance of the Impact Matrix
The Impact Matrix is important because it organizes the things that should happen in any Analytics project . And here comes a big general problem with this type of project, especially on the Web: these fronts tend to be led by a completely technical team. Because they are technical, it is common for them to be more concerned with this type of project front, such as good data mapping, quality tagging of a page and mapping of user behavior.
Of course, these are important points, but it is always important to clarify a necessary doubt:
Why is this project being carried out?
This may seem like a simple question, but it is often overlooked. Little time is spent thinking about why and what impact the things you are measuring will have. Without doing this exercise of reflection or knowing what to do with this data, you end up creating a very costly Analytics project.
In the end, it is possible to complete such a project at a high cost, and as a result have countless data and wonderful data visualization dashes.which, in the end, brings no return.
The ideal is for the matrix to generate data to support decision-making regarding a new action .
In summary, the importance of the impact matrix is:
Organize Analytics projects, especially relevant in Web projects;
Contrast the technical approach with a focus on action and impact;
Avoid neglecting the purpose and impact of the project;
Reduce costs by directing efforts towards relevant actions;
Assign meaning to the generated data and visualizations;
Focus on generating data for decisions, not just displaying it.
Prioritize indicators based on the ability to act quickly.
Reflect the strategic value of indicators;
Help identify decision makers and target audiences for indicators;
Facilitate communication and understanding for decision makers.
A well-structured matrix prevents wasted time and effort on projects that build amazing dashboards that no one actually uses. So with that, if you understand why each metric is where it is in the matrix, the rest of this construction guide will be very simple to understand.
Allocating efforts more intelligently
Here we can see that the matrix is useless if it doesn't help decision makers make decisions!
Depending on the scale of the matrix, it is possible to understand that time is proportionally linked to the time needed to make a decision regarding that data, and not to the time it takes to collect it;
Even because, the higher it is on the vertical axis, the greater the impact it has directly on the company's portfolio. This is because you can generate a high cost for a more in-depth analysis.
It also helps that each indicator is presented differently depending on the decision maker’s level in the company hierarchy. Therefore, the best way to present an indicator is as a simple sentence in an email.
Conclusion
Finally, when you combine the two axes of the matrix, you can visualize the analysis needed to make a decision. Again, using the pageview as an example, you can visualize a very direct cause and effect relationship.
If a change is made, does it decrease or increase page views? Perhaps there is no need to go too deeply into analyzing this data.
On the other hand, ROI can have hundreds of causes and hundreds of consequences. Therefore, the type of analysis needs to be deeper. It is not enough to look at what happened, but to visualize the impact that changing this can generate. The more data there is at the top of the matrix, the higher the impact and costs.
With this in mind, you should avoid falling into the fallacy that the important thing is to measure quickly, not to measure the action. With a well-structured matrix, you avoid having projects that only serve to create beautiful dashboards that no one uses.
To understand more about building a well-structured effort/performance matrix that will result in the development of analytics projects and advertising/marketing campaigns that will bring positive results, download our free e-book!
The Impact Matrix is nothing more than an effective tool that can help organizations convert strategy into action. Also known as the Performance Matrix, it provides relative positioning for impact on the vertical axis and relative positioning for performance on the horizontal axis.
Continue reading to understand in depth how it works.
About the Impact Matrix
Every strategic action and project proposal requires control over existing data and KPIs so that the extent of your success can be measured. Failure to read and analyze this data leads to a lack of control and a lack of motivation to continue with campaigns, since there is no comparative basis to illustrate how much you succeeded (or failed).
With the help of the matrix it is possible to have access to:
Relative positioning for impact on the vertical axis;
Relative positioning for performance on the horizontal axis;
Organization of actions.
The matrix allows you to organize an analytics project , not based on technical vision, but on the capacity for action. The important thing in the matrix is not the ability to collect, but to understand how the numbers allow for diagnosis and subsequent action.
Differences between horizontal and vertical axis
The horizontal axis of the matrix comes first to show the importance of each indicator and the depth of analysis required for each action, depending on this indicator. This is the relevance of the horizontal axis of the matrix.
On the vertical axis, we visualize the strategic relevance of that indicator within the company. For example, the questions it can answer are:
How much money does it generate?
How much do you save?
How much does action based on that indicator generate or save?
The higher the placement on the vertical axis, the greater the impact of the process on the code number of philippines perception of value. To determine the order of impact, from strongest to weakest, the matrix should be read from top to bottom. Here is a very basic example of an impact matrix:
impact matrix in analytics strategy
Using the example of page views and ROI , to generate money equivalent to a 1 percentage point increase in this indicator during an advertising campaign, it is necessary to increase page views hundreds of times. The vertical axis allows us to see how strategic this data is or how much it helps to redefine the strategy.
The matrix loses its role if it does not help people make decisions, that is its main function ! On the vertical axis we have the hierarchy scale of the company's operation, and on the horizontal axis we have the response time, as well as the impact window that an action taken in the real operation will have on the same metric.
Data needs to be presented in the most understandable way possible: whether it’s a simple sentence in an email or an elaborate dashboard. By combining the two axes of the matrix, it’s possible to understand what type of analysis needs to be done to make a decision. The higher up the matrix the data is, the greater the impact and costs.
The importance of the Impact Matrix
The Impact Matrix is important because it organizes the things that should happen in any Analytics project . And here comes a big general problem with this type of project, especially on the Web: these fronts tend to be led by a completely technical team. Because they are technical, it is common for them to be more concerned with this type of project front, such as good data mapping, quality tagging of a page and mapping of user behavior.
Of course, these are important points, but it is always important to clarify a necessary doubt:
Why is this project being carried out?
This may seem like a simple question, but it is often overlooked. Little time is spent thinking about why and what impact the things you are measuring will have. Without doing this exercise of reflection or knowing what to do with this data, you end up creating a very costly Analytics project.
In the end, it is possible to complete such a project at a high cost, and as a result have countless data and wonderful data visualization dashes.which, in the end, brings no return.
The ideal is for the matrix to generate data to support decision-making regarding a new action .
In summary, the importance of the impact matrix is:
Organize Analytics projects, especially relevant in Web projects;
Contrast the technical approach with a focus on action and impact;
Avoid neglecting the purpose and impact of the project;
Reduce costs by directing efforts towards relevant actions;
Assign meaning to the generated data and visualizations;
Focus on generating data for decisions, not just displaying it.
Prioritize indicators based on the ability to act quickly.
Reflect the strategic value of indicators;
Help identify decision makers and target audiences for indicators;
Facilitate communication and understanding for decision makers.
A well-structured matrix prevents wasted time and effort on projects that build amazing dashboards that no one actually uses. So with that, if you understand why each metric is where it is in the matrix, the rest of this construction guide will be very simple to understand.
Allocating efforts more intelligently
Here we can see that the matrix is useless if it doesn't help decision makers make decisions!
Depending on the scale of the matrix, it is possible to understand that time is proportionally linked to the time needed to make a decision regarding that data, and not to the time it takes to collect it;
Even because, the higher it is on the vertical axis, the greater the impact it has directly on the company's portfolio. This is because you can generate a high cost for a more in-depth analysis.
It also helps that each indicator is presented differently depending on the decision maker’s level in the company hierarchy. Therefore, the best way to present an indicator is as a simple sentence in an email.
Conclusion
Finally, when you combine the two axes of the matrix, you can visualize the analysis needed to make a decision. Again, using the pageview as an example, you can visualize a very direct cause and effect relationship.
If a change is made, does it decrease or increase page views? Perhaps there is no need to go too deeply into analyzing this data.
On the other hand, ROI can have hundreds of causes and hundreds of consequences. Therefore, the type of analysis needs to be deeper. It is not enough to look at what happened, but to visualize the impact that changing this can generate. The more data there is at the top of the matrix, the higher the impact and costs.
With this in mind, you should avoid falling into the fallacy that the important thing is to measure quickly, not to measure the action. With a well-structured matrix, you avoid having projects that only serve to create beautiful dashboards that no one uses.
To understand more about building a well-structured effort/performance matrix that will result in the development of analytics projects and advertising/marketing campaigns that will bring positive results, download our free e-book!