Marketing & Data Analytics W/ Matthew Garcia

In this episode of the Sunbeam Chats Podcast, I am talking with Matthew Garcia a Senior Marketing Analyst at Eaton Corporation, originally from Trinidad & Tobago and currently residing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He holds a Master of Science in Marketing Analytics from American University – Kogod School of Business, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Marketing (Hons.) from Argosy University – Los Angeles, CA.

In this conversation class is in session, as we talk about Marketing & Data Analytics. Matthews shares about his transition from life and work in the Caribbean to living in the US, studying Data Analytics and what he does at the dynamic company Eaton Corporation. 

What is Data Analytics? Matthew says "simply put Data Analytics is the process of examining data to find useful insights, trends and patterns." We went on to discuss how it can be used in work and businesses.  

He spoke about data sources, that is where data can be found and its use in business operations. As to how Data Analytics helps, Matthew shares in the following ways: 

• It enables informed decisions, from actionable insights.
• It improves customer service having analyzed the customer journey.  Knowing their behavior and tastes can allow for personalized marketing 
• It gives businesses a competitive advantage. They can respond quicker, adapt to changes and identify new opportunities within the market. 
• Risk Management becomes easier. As it helps identify and protect the company against fraud, which enables the business to become more proactive to mitigate against them.  

We spoke about trends in Data Analytics and how Tech is being integrated. Like LLLMs, machine learning, automation and advance pattern recognitions. Which can all help with scalability. 

The Tech can also work to aggregate the data from many data sources, to provide real time insights for forecasting etc. These trends and others help the work of data analytics become more efficient and drive innovation across industries. 

What is Big Data? Matthew says "it is simply different types of data from various sources, be it structured and unstructured. It speaks to the volume and various types, thereafter it must be prepared, cleaned, and transformed to give information." 

We talk about the need to upskill and be aware of the shifts in the world as it relates to Tech and other advancements. Matthew shares about having transferable skills, soft skills and other competencies. Those you acquired along the way can play an important part and even give you the competitive edge in your future endeavors.  

How can people learn and start incorporating Data Analytics? In the following ways: 

• Identify your goals, what you hope to achieve
• Collect relevant data from various sources. Then clean, prepare and organize the data 
• Choose the right data analytics tools that can fit your budget 
• Choose the right team and start small to get it done. 

He went on to talk about some of the tools like HubSpot, MailChimp and Tableau etc. which can be used based on your business operations to gather data. 

How can we start becoming more data conscious? Matthew said the following: 

• Start small, analyze and act
• Adjust your strategy, monitor and improve 
• Engage in continuous improvement 

Then Matthew shares how people can learn Data Analytics with courses from  Coursera, Udemy, and others. The aim is to keep learning and engage in constant upskilling to stay abreast of what's coming in the future.