Difference between business and analytical questions

Forming Analytical Questions

Konstantinos Kattidis

Data Analytics Lead

What's the difference?

On the left, a business man asking questions. On the right, an analyst thinking about analytical questions

Text, cozyspace.com

Strategic goal:

Increase total revenue by $30M in the next three years.

Business questions:

Pricing team: At what levels should we set our prices to increase revenue?

Marketing team: What campaigns should we do to attract new customers?

A business man asking questions

Text, cozyspace.com

An analyst thinking about analytical questions

Analytical questions:

Which customer group generates the most and least revenue based on the last 6 months' sales?

How have past campaigns affected the sales volume for each customer group?

Analytical solutions:

Descriptive analysis
Data visualization

Two key characteristics

Telescope pointing to a city

The scope of the questions

Cross roads in the forest

The methodology used to answer them

The scope of the question

Business questions:

Broad in scope and open-ended.
Aim to provide a high-level solution to a business problem.

Analytical questions:

Specific and focused on a particular aspect of the business problem.
They are formed to help answer broader business questions.

Telescope pointing to a city

Characteristics of the analytical question

Which customer group generates the most and least revenue based on the last 6 months' sales?

Following the SMART methodology:

Specific
Measurable
Actionable
Relevant
Time-bound

People discussing analytical results

Difference in the methodology used

Business questions:

Data analytics
Intuition, experience, or expert opinion

Analytical questions:

Data analytics and the use of statistical techniques

Cross roads in the forest

Analytical inputs to the business questions

Analytical question: Which customer group generates the most and least revenue based on the last 6 month sales?

It can be answered using:

Revenue data analysis and data visualization

Business question: What campaigns should we do to attract new customers?

It can be answered using:

Inputs from the above data analysis
Brainstorming sessions and input from experts

Let's practice!

Forming Analytical Questions