5 tips for creating a groundswell of analytics adoption within your organization.
ChatGPT Enters the Scene
ChatGPT launched in November 2022 and within 5 days it had reached one million users, shattering every previously held record by an online service. Users piled on to create free accounts and dive into the new technology headfirst. Some were just curious, others wanted to understand the rapidly changing artificial intelligence landscape. Still others, like AnswerRocket, wanted to understand how to utilize this new technology to the benefit of their customers.
Making Waves in AI and Beyond
There’s a concept from marketing guru Seth Godin that talks about the elements that make up the much sought-after “brand crush.” A brand crush is a love affair that consumers have with a brand that they can’t live without. They consume said brand frequently, talk about it fervently, and no substitute will do.
The elements that create a brand crush? Magic and Generosity.
The magic of ChatGPT is easy to see. OpenAI has taken the power of artificial intelligence, plus billions of data points, and put them together to provide users answers within seconds. It was unlike any tool any of us had ever seen and we couldn’t wait to show our friends.
The generosity piece of the equation is that ChatGPT is completely FREE. That’s right. Some of the most powerful technology in the world, boxed up with a ribbon on top and handed over to the world.
THAT is how they reached over one million users in just 5 days. They created a brand crush between ChatGPT and the world, and it went viral.
What Can Analytics Leaders Learn from ChatGPT?
In a world where a 25% adoption rate is accepted as the norm, analytics leaders can borrow a few tricks from ChatGPT’s playbook to spark adoption of analytics tools within their own organizations.
1. K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid)
Your non-technical users are more likely to be intimidated by complex processes and dashboards that stand in the way of getting the answers they need. So make it unbelievably easy to use, right away.
Upon signing in, ChatGPT users are greeted with a simple dashboard that outlines some basic examples, capabilities and even limitations of the platform, followed immediately by a search bar where users can enter their prompt for the tool.
Recent activity is saved in the right hand column, making it easy for users to resume previous activities. Also on the right side near the bottom are the standard account/settings/help options.
That’s it. No fancy bells and whistles, no setup, no training, just create an account and you’re in, ready to start using the tool.
Analytics leaders can lean on this example when preparing their teams to use a new analytics platform.
→ Identify what content is the highest priority to review, and limit yourself to only showing that content. This way, you avoid overwhelming users with too much information to start.
→ Focus on meeting people where they are now, instead of what they could be doing with the tool in the future. A gradual build up of question complexity grows confidence. While ChatGPT 4 has the ability to write code for a website, you can bet most users are not starting there.
→ Start with simple functions and walk users through the process, step-by-step at a slow pace. This allows time for and creates an environment that welcomes open dialogue and questions.
2. Build Off Existing Skills
Part of why ChatGPT is so successful is because the general public has already learned how to interact with a chat interface. If you handed someone who’s never had a computer an open laptop with ChatGPT up – they’d really struggle. But ChatGPT shines because it knows that its most common user base is made up of folks who are familiar with this kind of setup. It’s natural to find the text box, use a “send” button (paper airplane) and continue to interact.
→ For analytics leaders, find what’s familiar to your users and their skill sets. This could be building off of presentations they’re used to reading, or referring to another tool (like Excel or PowerPoint) to ground explanations in your analytics tool.
3. Deliver Immediate Value
In the same way that users could create a free ChatGPT account and immediately get a recipe for that evening’s dinner, users want to see immediate value in the tool.
Because of the simplicity of the interface, ChatGPT users can choose to dive right in if they decide to.
When preparing their own teams to use a new tool, analytics leaders can lean into the ChatGPT experience by offering a thoughtful first experience. Loading data, testing, and training prep all go a long way to make sure the solution is polished and functional when your team sees it for the first time.
→ Keep training sessions streamlined and focus on delivering a quick win. This helps create excitement and drive adoption.
→ Address a couple of key use cases in your training sessions and demonstrate how the tools improve upon the current processes.
→ Offer resources for users to dive-deeper on their own AND be available for one-on-one problem solving sessions. This allows users to get answers in the best environment for them.
4. Make it fun!
While it may seem counterintuitive for data analysis to be fun, delivering a useful tool that makes the 9 to 5 a little bit easier should make anyone happy, be ready to share your excitement!
→ Offer prizes for participants who ask or answer questions during your training.
→ Sprinkle humor into your presentation and deck.
→ Take frequent breaks, encourage open dialogue and ask about current pain points. You’ll learn a lot about the team you’re working with, and create trust.
→ Remember people want to be talked to, not at.
5. Find your raving fans
As users piled into the ChatGPT platform and discovered how easy it was to use and how much fun it was, excitement grew and word spread quickly. In a sense, ChatGPT made mini-influencers out of all of us.
We’ve found some of the best ways to drive adoption of our augmented analytics solution in various organizations is by spotlighting your most excited, most passionate users. This goes beyond your own role as an analytics leader, as you’ll need to find advocates on each team that you’re working with.
→ These individuals talk the talk, understand the hurdles and headaches, and can help relay unvarnished feedback back to you.
→ Showcase the success stories of your users and the different ways they’re getting value from your analytics tools. When users can see their own peers succeeding, it makes it seem less intimidating and within their reach.
In Conclusion
In just 5 days, ChatGPT launched and broke records by acquiring a million users. Its overnight success can be attributed to a viral brand crush born of the generous sharing of “AI magic” for free.
The good news is: brand crushes aren’t just reserved for leaps in AI technology. No matter the industry or the audience, leaders can fuel crushes for their own brands by embracing magic and generosity.
Magic can be as simple as a tool that works, and makes life easier.
Generosity may not be in the price of the platform itself (free won’t work for most business models) but can come in the teamwork, relationships, and resources of a mutually beneficial partnership. A thoughtful, intentional roll-out will help teams focus on the immediate value your platform brings. The continued collaboration of an engaged team makes all the difference for success.
The success of ChatGPT serves as an inspiration for analyst leaders who are trying to create a similar following in their own organizations.
