n Look for examples outside your company and outside your industry. For inspiration, look not only at what you can do but also look at what other organisations have done. Create an awareness of what other industries are accomplishing with analytics.
n Understand your culture. Assess the personality of your organisation to determine whether top-down or bottom-up implementation will work best. Success can happen in either scenario – but you should know before getting started which will work best for your organisation.
n Determine your baseline. While you're assessing the culture, you should also assess the level of analytic understanding within the organisation. A tool like the Information Evolution Model can help you determine where your organisation falls on the adoption spectrum, so you know where to start and what to aim for next.
n Find a starting point. Once you’ve provided examples, you need to explain how you will apply those same methods in your organisation – and what the results will be. Cross-sell and up-sell is a natural starting point for many businesses.
n Give them something tangible. If you associate your initiatives with your business opportunities, you will find support.
Jim Davis is senior vice president and chief marketing officer of SAS.