Good analytics starts with questions, not tools. Decide what decisions you want to inform, find the data that answers them, and present it simply. Fancy platforms come later — if at all.
Start with the decision
Don't ask 'what can we measure?' Ask 'what decisions do we keep guessing on?' For each, name the metric that would settle it. This keeps analytics tied to action and avoids dashboards nobody opens.
Where to get the data
You usually already have it: your store, CRM, ad accounts, accounting and spreadsheets. The first job is gathering it in one place and cleaning it — see what ETL is.
Watch out: messy, inconsistent data is the top reason analytics projects stall. Clean a little, reliably, before scaling.
Don't drown in tools
Begin with a spreadsheet or a simple BI tool like Metabase. Add a proper pipeline and warehouse only when manual work becomes the bottleneck. Tooling should follow need, not lead it.
A practical first month
- List the 3–5 decisions you want data to inform.
- Identify the data source for each.
- Pull it together and clean the obvious issues.
- Build one simple dashboard and review it weekly.