Over the past several years I've spoken with many clients and other associations about their experience with data analytics. I have been surprised to learn that many associations have implemented fairly expensive analytics tools but have not had great success with them.

So I was pleasantly surprised to talk to an association recently who had had very good success with their analytics system. When I dug deeper, I discovered something that, in hindsight, is obvious. They were successful in large part because they kept it simple.

In this particular example, the association was using data from their AMS and their online community. And that's it.

What I was finding with other associations is that they were often trying to bring together many more data sources (e.g., website, social media, outside registration systems) and the end result was that no one was particularly happy.

This is not only true in data analytics, but in pretty much every aspect of data management. The more complex the process and project, the lower your likelihood of success. Keeping it simple is almost always your best option.