[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/aokmarketing.com\/20-myths-about-analytics\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/aokmarketing.com\/20-myths-about-analytics\/","headline":"20 Myths About Analytics","name":"20 Myths About Analytics","description":"Analytics have been given much press lately in businesses from professional baseball teams to retail companies looking to get quality research done on consumers, and consumer trends.\u00a0 Here are some of the fallacies you need to be aware of in order to make the most out of whatever type of research you are conducting. Analytics … Continue reading 20 Myths About Analytics<\/span><\/a>","datePublished":"2015-09-11","dateModified":"2026-04-16","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/aokmarketing.com\/author\/khalid-essam\/#Person","name":"Khalid Essam","url":"https:\/\/aokmarketing.com\/author\/khalid-essam\/","identifier":7,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25d3fae6e94bfb6c93dc73eabb8112b8e67eb93ee6e61a68e4f9740f5d0fd804?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25d3fae6e94bfb6c93dc73eabb8112b8e67eb93ee6e61a68e4f9740f5d0fd804?s=96&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"AOK Marketing","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/aokmarketing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/AOK-Marketing-Logo.png","url":"https:\/\/aokmarketing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/AOK-Marketing-Logo.png","width":126,"height":53}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/aokmarketing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Analytics.jpg","url":"https:\/\/aokmarketing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Analytics.jpg","height":683,"width":1024},"url":"https:\/\/aokmarketing.com\/20-myths-about-analytics\/","about":["Analytics and Call Tracking","Consumer Behavior","Online Marketing Essentials","Online Presence Comparison and Tracking","Search Engine Marketing (SEM)"],"wordCount":1888,"keywords":["Analytics. Google Analytics"],"articleBody":"Analytics have been given much press lately in businesses from professional baseball teams to retail companies looking to get quality research done on consumers, and consumer trends.\u00a0 Here are some of the fallacies you need to be aware of in order to make the most out of whatever type of research you are conducting.Analytics can be a powerful tool, that when used correctly, give a business a competitive edge in a global economy that is dynamic.\u00a0 When used incorrectly, they can doom a business to failure, or be an expensive tool that yields no real benefits.If analytics are part of your role within a business, you need to know the following information to get more out of your predictive business tools and processes.Knowledge is actually powerMany companies know of correlations.\u00a0 For example, on a rainy day, umbrellas and some food items sell much better than on sunny days.\u00a0 This can be lead to better merchandising for retail firms, but is knowing that a correlation exists enough?There is no doubt it has value for business, merely relying on correlation alone can entail risk, and it may limit broader actions that could further improve sales.\u00a0 You can never have enough knowledge.\u00a0 So do not be satisfied in knowing the obvious, the tendency of people to buy umbrellas on a rainy day is simple enough to understand, but to get at the information and rationale behind why certain foods sell better on rainy days will take some more work.Scientific evidence is proofIf anything, a look back in our past tells us even the best and brightest among us can be wrong.\u00a0 Even Einstein once wrongly concluded the universe was not expanding.\u00a0 The best example in the business world was the launch of New Coke in 1985.\u00a0 Extensive market research with taste tests given to over 200,000 people indicated they preferred the taste of New Coke to the old one.\u00a0 Surely over 200,000 people cannot be wrong?This was a very critical mistake as the higher-ups at Coca-Cola did not recognize that brand heritage was every bit as important as taste.\u00a0 The public turned their nose up to the new formula, and Coke reintroduced Classic Coke to a welcoming market.\u00a0 It still sells to this day while New Coke fell by the wayside a couple of decades ago.Random samples ensure representationA true random sample is something most statisticians will tell you is very hard to achieve.\u00a0 There are a large number of factors that make humans biased, and that can skew the real results of a survey.\u00a0 Things are just not how they appear more often than you might think.To get a true random sample involves more than just putting a survey up on your web site.\u00a0 It takes a statistician with an advanced degree to help set up a true random sample, and then there is still a margin of error involved.Most people are rational beingsHumans make irrational decisions on a daily basis.\u00a0 As consumers, humans will stick with brands we are familiar with, even if another option is clearly superior.\u00a0 We also use decoy options to buy products based on subliminal decisions, most notably buying a larger size of something because it promises to give you some for free.\u00a0 We can also get a great deal of satisfaction by paying more for something for nothing more than perceived value, when another item is the same for a lesser price.All of these are somewhat irrational behaviors, and analytics have a hard time crunching numbers such as these.Correlation is an accurate measurement of the strength of relationshipsHumans have a tendency to try and connect two variables via correlation, and sometimes it holds true, and sometimes it doesn’t.\u00a0 You can draw a correlation between health care spending in the United States that increased seven fold between 1960 and 2010.\u00a0 During this time, deaths from heart disease fell by more than one-half.\u00a0 It is not out of the question to draw a strong correlation between those two variables.Not so fast though.\u00a0 There are also other variables in play that most likely had a large part in this.\u00a0 This was also a time when people became more mindful of the role a balanced and healthy diet can play in their life, and exercise became in vogue as it never had before.It’s also easy to be a devil’s advocate on this correlation.\u00a0 In that same time, some chronic health conditions, such as diabetes, actually became more widespread.\u00a0 Things are not quite as easy to connect as one might think.That which cannot be measured, cannot be managedIt has been said by more than one advertising executive that they know at least one-half of their ads are not working, they are just not sure which half it is.\u00a0 Uncertainty in advertising is something that will likely never go away.\u00a0 It is inherently difficult to measure what stimulus triggers what response.\u00a0\u00a0 But this is no way means at attempt should not be made.In time, the software used in these types of analysis are becoming better and better.\u00a0 You just have to make sure you feed it good data.Recall is actually a trusted form of memoryHumans have a tendency to forget, and more than you might think.\u00a0 Research has shown time and again that people will recall simple images and descriptions a little more than one-half of the time.\u00a0 Research on what people recall from ad campaigns show a little better recall, with people remembering the general context of a message more accurately than any specific details.Metrics differ for sales and marketingBoth sales and marketing arms of a business share a single goal \u2013 to drive growth through profits.\u00a0 It would be reasonable to assume they would use the same metrics to track performance, but often, they do not as sales teams focus on leads and closing sales while marketing has a focus on the brand, and determining how effective ad campaigns are in the long and short run.To align the metrics of these two departments, experts suggest three groups of measures including outcome profitability, end-to-end conversions, and revenue diversity.\u00a0 These are the most accurate for determining what is working, and what is not.Good decision making is driven by sound metricsSurveys done on employees at many top companies reveal that decision making is done by balancing judgment, along with analysis.\u00a0 Collecting and analyzing data is expensive, and is no guarantee they will be used properly in decision making.\u00a0 Many people just trust their gut instincts more than they trust the numbers.Great insights work to sell themselvesGreat research projects and top-notch business intelligence systems can only go so far in leading to positive changes, and winning people over for what they do for a business.\u00a0 But the facts are most projects fail in reaching their goals.\u00a0 Mistakes in operations, poor problem definitions, and more are just some of the most common reasons behind project failure.Even with a clearly defined goal and objectives, a project can still fail due to poor communications and a lack of involvement by those who have a stake in the success of the project.More Myths About Analytics Predictive MetricsMore and more businesses these days are trying to gain a competitive edge using predictive analytics, but few are successful these days.\u00a0 This is due in part to falling for many long-standing myths about them.\u00a0 Here are some of the more common ones you need to know about.Predictive analysis is simpleSure, it is easy to mine big data and draw analysis from it.\u00a0 Getting analytic programs to work and spit out data is easy.\u00a0 Doing it the right way is much more difficult.\u00a0 Doing predictive analysis right takes some training in consumer behavior as related to marketing, and without that, results tend to be wildly inaccurate.Predictions are always rightNever think that anything in business is static.\u00a0 Things are always changing.\u00a0 As time passes, new data should be inserted into predictive models to get better projections as to the future.\u00a0 There are a number of variables such as demographic changes, cultural shifts, and more, that can change your model in ways you never saw coming.Predictions are perfectionPredictive analytic produce outcomes which are probable. \u00a0No one has the power to predict the future in an extremely accurate manner.\u00a0 If they did, no one would have a real job as people would spend all of their time picking winners at the race track or on Wall Street.\u00a0 Long shots come in every now and again, and those are tough to predict in business and in the races.You must have a professional consultant to implement predictive analyticsYou should first do some predictive analysis on your own, with your own data, and see what the results are before you take the expensive step of bringing in a consultant.\u00a0 One of the problems is finding a consultant that knows enough about your business to help.\u00a0 This is one area where it might be to your advantage to train employees, or hire an outsider familiar with your business to do predictive analysis.If you are still not getting the results you want and need, then you may want to consider bringing in an outside consultant.Predictive analysis metrics cost too muchTechnology breakthroughs such as cloud storage and new software have made it affordable enough that even small businesses can make use of it.Predictive analytic is a machine problem for the most partPredictive analytic is a not a magic black box by any means.\u00a0 You cannot just add data and expect some accurate results to pour out some time later.\u00a0 It just does not work like that.\u00a0 You need the ability to validate results before these projections are used for any company planning.Insights are equal to actionThis is perhaps the biggest of all myths surrounding predictive analysis metrics.\u00a0 The process itself is done to gain insights on the business world around you.\u00a0 In order to put those insights into action, it takes a great deal of managerial skill and experience.\u00a0 You also need backing from stakeholders within the organization to make it work.These are not the only myths surrounding analytics by any means.\u00a0 Analytic results can be skewed by bias, on the part of the one doing the research, or the subject.\u00a0 You must guard against this in order to get accurate results.\u00a0Conclusions and Insights on AnalyticsJust because there are so many myths surrounding analytics and their use does not mean they are not important for a business, in fact, they are more important than ever.\u00a0 Today, new data sources and improved diagnostic capabilities have the ability to enhance the value through careful analysis.\u00a0 But in order to make an impact and get action on the trends you see developing through analytics, you will need stakeholder engagement, support from upper management, and commitment to any projects looking to capitalize on future trends that have been projected.Analytics will continue to play a large part in businesses of all sizes, and their role in the future can only be expected to grow.\u00a0 Just be careful with what you put in the equation, and the results you get out of the analytics black box."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"20 Myths About Analytics","item":"https:\/\/aokmarketing.com\/20-myths-about-analytics\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]