Data ROI Series: Stop Monitoring. Start Navigating.
The biggest frustration I hear from DMO and Economic Development leaders is the lack of value from their data subscriptions. Often out of perceived necessity, they are stuck in measurement mode - using surface-level dashboards to monitor what has already happened.
However, with a shift in approach, they (and you) can use existing data to quantify risk, diagnose a product issue, and mandate a new strategy.
The secret: pairing data sets. Here are three examples of how this approach shifts the relationship to data from “monitoring” to “navigating” with powerful, actionable intelligence.
Public Relations Monitoring + Geolocation = Cost of Misperception
Scenario: A negative news story about the declining state of your city’s downtown ran in a major feeder-city newspaper a month ago. In spite of business concerns, local officials shrug it off.
Assessment: Geolocation data analysis shows a steady decline in longer-term (3+ hours) visits to your downtown district. In fact, the downtown ‘dwell time’ is 30 minutes shorter than before the article ran. Upon further review, it’s clear that this decline isn’t typical or aligned with seasonality.
Conclusion: Knowing that downtown visitors spend ~$70 per hour, the 30-minute drop represents a $35 loss per visitor. We’ve quantified the perception problem the article created into a measurable drain on downtown businesses.
Action: Using the hard cost of inaction as your grounds, you can now convince the city and the downtown association to partner on a promotional strategy to combat this recent decline.
Sentiment + Hotel Data = Product Development Mandate
Scenario: Sentiment data around your destination’s hotel experiences is showing an increase in negative comments concerning value (“dated rooms”, “no amenities”, “unfriendly service”). Meanwhile, hotel data shows that ADR has flatlined through the high season, while competitors say 8% YOY growth.
Assessment: When looking at the data sets side-by-side, you note that the spike in negative sentiment and the arrested ADR both began in early June. The softness in the market and poor perceived value are closely correlated throughout the season.
Conclusion: After further analysis, there doesn’t seem to be another explanation for the softness of your hotel market. It’s clear that visitors aren’t satisfied with their hotel experiences and aren’t willing to pay the rates seen in other destinations. Millions of dollars in potential revenue are going unrealized.
Action: Leverage the lost potential revenue analysis to have a frank and informed conversation with your hotel partners about ways to improve. Use sentiment analysis to identify specific areas where staff training and capital improvements can most effectively improve their guest experience.
Search + Website Data = Navigating the AI Shift
Scenario: Your digital marketing team noticed a consistent YOY decline in organic traffic over the past six months. Although seasonal ad spending has been low, this decline is notably steeper than seen in previous years.
Assessment: In comparing site data to Search Console data, we see that the areas where declines are most severe (“things to do”, “events”) are the exact queries now being answered by AI Overviews.
Conclusion: Organic traffic will continue to decline in this new normal of AI-curated search results. However, the action (visitor guide requests, email sign-ups) conversion rates for the remaining referral traffic are up 15%. This means you are losing low-value traffic and retaining high-intent visitors.
Action: Review the AI citations in the search data to audit your site content gaps in Structured Data, authority, and quality. Use conversion data to fully assess remaining traffic and sources, only investing in content that is aligned with them and that AI cannot easily summarize.
Ready to move from merely monitoring to intelligent strategizing?
The “monitoring” mindset is often born out of necessity - you don’t have the budget, time, or expertise to go beyond surface-level dashboards and last-minute, pre-board meeting metrics to (hopefully) flag any potential concerns or opportunities.
If your data subscriptions aren't delivering clear action mandates, let's talk. I help DMOs and ED organizations turn disparate data points into unified, quantified strategies.
