No-nonsense marketing and analytics best practices from
international industry leaders, straight to your inbox
Marketing success is increasingly shaped by the quality of your underlying data. We sat down with Wojciech Zak to explore how marketers can improve campaign reporting, reduce data loss, and create more reliable workflows that lead to smarter, faster decisions.
The most persistent challenge in analytics is ensuring consistent data quality. Wojciech Zak explains that problems often stem from legacy systems, rushed implementations, and communication breakdowns between developers and marketers. Silent changes to the website can break data collection and lead to gaps that go unnoticed.
To avoid this, companies need to assess technical changes before deployment. Zak recommends evaluating each new feature against its real business benefit, rather than relying on vendor promises. This is especially true with cookie banners and consent tools. Poor implementations can block tracking entirely or reset cookies on every visit, undermining consent signals and breaking continuity.
Campaign data loses value if it cannot be trusted or compared. Zak stresses the importance of a coherent UTM structure. In his experience, multiple departments run campaigns—from paid and social to editorial and email and without a shared standard, it becomes impossible to measure impact across channels.
Going beyond the required UTM parameters enables deeper insights. When you know exactly how each campaign was labeled, you can quantify true return on investment. If UTMs are lost during the session, passing campaign values into the data layer keeps information intact across the user journey.
To make insights actionable, Zak recommends building dashboards tailored to the campaign manager’s needs. When marketers can self-serve relevant data, they move faster, make better decisions, and reduce reliance on analysts for basic reporting.
Without structured and standardized data, marketing becomes guesswork. Zak warns that without a shared foundation, evaluating what worked and where to optimize becomes difficult. Siloed data leads to inefficiencies and missed opportunities.
A unified structure across departments ensures that campaign performance can be evaluated and compared with confidence. It enables better budget management and helps teams work toward shared goals using the same measurement framework.
Zak highlights three core metrics that drive decision-making in his role:
Digital value starts with listening. Zak believes analysts must take time to understand the real problems their teams face and respond with MVP-style solutions that evolve over time. Complex tools often fail because they don't match day-to-day workflows.
Clear communication is just as critical. Many brilliant solutions fall flat because they are presented in overly technical language. Tailoring communication to the audience ensures alignment, especially when presenting to decision-makers.
Zak also urges teams to spot repeating problems across departments. Often, they share the same root cause. Addressing these issues at the source strengthens collaboration and enables smarter long-term fixes.
Zak encourages analysts to show how data directly supports business outcomes. Instead of keeping analytics work behind the scenes, he advocates sharing use cases that highlight its role in engagement, sales, and retention.
This not only builds internal trust but also ensures the organization sees analytics as a strategic partner, not just a reporting function.
One issue that often goes unaddressed is tool bias. Agencies tied to specific platforms may push solutions that fit the tool, not the client’s actual needs. Zak stresses that business objectives should dictate the tools, not the other way around.
Another tough truth is the tendency to overclaim results. While analytics can be transformative, it’s rarely the only factor behind success. Zak calls for more honest reporting to preserve the credibility of the analytics profession.
With increased privacy regulation, Zak predicts a shift toward login-based experiences. This will change how users are tracked but also opens the door to more personalized and compliant marketing.
He also anticipates a broader move to unified web and app analytics. Google’s App + Web framework enables cross-platform tracking that supports long-term engagement and retention strategies.
To prepare, marketers will need to rethink data collection, strengthen their foundations, and start building toward a more privacy-aware future.
Consistent UTM structures ensure that performance data can be accurately compared across campaigns, teams, and platforms. Without it, marketers risk misattribution and poor ROI insights.
Storing campaign information in the data layer helps maintain tracking continuity even when UTM parameters are lost mid-session or stripped by privacy tools.
By building dashboards that display only relevant KPIs, analysts can help marketers take faster, more informed action without relying on complex reports.
Weak governance leads to inconsistent reporting, duplicated efforts, and budget inefficiencies. It also reduces the organization’s ability to scale or optimize effectively.
They should advocate for data with clear, tailored communication. Showcasing real-world use cases builds credibility and fosters stronger cross-team collaboration.