Interview
This is part of our end-of-year series celebrating our top CMSWire Contributors of the Year for 2023. These are regular CMSWire Contributors whose articles this year greatly resonated with our community of professionals. These Contributors simply serve as great ambassadors of our brand in the world of marketing and customer experience.
The Gist
- Data literacy essential. Tobias Komischke highlights the necessity for universal data literacy, vital for informed, effective decision-making.
- CMO challenges unique. Midsize tech CMOs face distinct resource constraints, requiring strategic resource allocation and data-driven prioritization.
- Survey insights crucial. Effective UX surveys mix open and closed questions, with AI assistance enhancing analysis of rich, nuanced customer feedback.
Data literacy. UX design. Customer experience. Tobias Komischke, Ph.D., a distinguished Rutgers University Professor and UX Fellow at Infragistics, Inc., does it all.
As a top contributor for CMSWire in 2023, Tobias stands out with his insightful article, "The Imperative of Data Literacy in Business Decision-Making." In this piece, he explores the crucial importance of making informed, data-driven decisions and the necessary cultural shift toward data democratization within organizations.
Tobias' expertise in data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning shines through in his CMSWire writing based in part on his leadership experience Infragistics' Innovation Lab. His article is not just a mere discussion; it's a comprehensive guide emphasizing the need for a universal data literacy skill set across all organizational levels. The piece skillfully explains the value of data-driven decision-making, highlighting its impact on cost reduction, accuracy improvement and enhancing customer experiences.
Tobias exhibits an exceptional understanding of complex data concepts. His writing navigates the reader through the intricacies of data literacy, making it accessible and engaging. His writing is a testament to his deep knowledge and commitment to advancing the field of data literacy in today's data-centric business world.
Q&A With Tobias Komischke
Boosting Data Literacy in Leaders
In your article about the imperative of data literacy, what are the key steps organizations should take to improve data literacy among their decision-makers?
An obvious approach is to train them. Roles like business analysts and data analysts that work heavily with data can act as data champions and educate decision makers. In addition to providing in-house training, there is also a learning effect when these data champions demonstrate data literacy in their own presentations and reports to the decision makers. Further, the data champions can provide feedback to the decision makers about their presentations and reports.
Scaling Challenges for Midsize Tech CMOs
From your insights on the evolving role of the CMO, what unique challenges do CMOs in midsize tech companies face compared to those in larger organizations, and how should they address these challenges?
I went back to Holly Fee who I interviewed for this article. Here’s her insight:
Midsize tech companies often operate with limited budgets and resources compared to larger companies which affects the scale and diversity of marketing initiatives. They must prioritize and allocate resources strategically. Leveraging cost-effective digital marketing channels and focusing on high-impact, measurable campaigns to optimize resource utilization. Also ensuring the right data is accessible for the team and leveraging that data for informed decision-making is pivotal for prioritizing initiatives. Investing in the right AI and automation tools will also help your company scale more quickly.
Optimizing UX Surveys for Rich Insights
How do you believe customer feedback surveys should be structured to provide the most valuable insights for UX design improvements?
Surveys typically feature a mix of open- and closed-ended questions. The ratio of open-ended questions should be higher because they’re yielding much richer and nuanced insights. Oftentimes survey creators shy away from these kinds of questions because they fear the effort to read through and analyze the unstructured replies — especially when you have many respondents. But first of all, that effort is worth it. If respondents take the time to put in verbose answers, that’s great! And second of all, AI can help tremendously to summarize and synthesize respondents’ answers.
Debunking Myths in IA and UI Design
What are some common misconceptions about information architecture and user interface design you've encountered, and how can businesses effectively differentiate between the two in their strategies?
The No. 1 misconception of people is not being aware of the sheer existence of IA. They go straight from requirements to screen-level design. However, IA is a step before the UI design begins. It’s really about crafting a taxonomy of the objects and functions your product consists of. It does not translate 1:1 into screen-level design, but it informs layout, navigation and naming. Skipping IA means that at the time you start screen-level design you don’t fully know what content and what functions belong together or are related. As a consequence, you’ll end up with a lot of trial and error to get that set up and make it work.
Top 3 Customer Experience Metrics
From your article on customer experience metrics, which three metrics do you believe are most crucial for businesses to monitor and why?
Learning Opportunities
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User Growth Rate: If your user base grows, that indicates growing market penetration, brand recognition, and revenue generation.
Retention Rate: You need to know how many users keep coming back to engage with your product. If you have a high user growth, but everybody abandons your product after a couple of days, you know that there is a mismatch between what users expect and your product provides. You can then investigate what the issue is and correct the course.
Paid Subscription Renewal Rate: This is very similar to retention rate, but this is much more directly about revenue generation. If your product sees high retention rates only up until the next payment is due, it’s a signal that your customers don’t perceive enough value in your product. Without recurring revenue, it’s hard to sustain your business.
Tell us something about Tobias Komischke outside of your professional life.
I have a degree in Psychology and I love bicycling — which makes me a cycologist 😊!
Tobias Komischke's 2023 Articles
The Imperative of Data Literacy in Business Decision-Making
The Evolving Role of the CMO in a Midsize Tech Company
How Customer Feedback Surveys Shape UX Design
Information Architecture vs. User Interface Design: Understanding the Differences
UX Research vs. UX Design: Exploring Key Differences