Data literacy for leaders: How to read, interpret, and act on your marketing insights

Data literacy for leaders isn’t optional anymore

A few years ago, I sat in a meeting with a managing partner who was convinced that their CTV (connected TV) ad impressions weren’t driving leads. It was a hunch. A gut feeling. And it was wrong.

This wasn’t because they lacked intelligence or experience. They’re a brilliant litigator with a thriving firm and an impeccable courtroom presence. But when it came to marketing data, they were relying on instinct. That instinct had worked for decades in the courtroom. But in marketing? It was quietly burning budget. That conversation stuck with me. Not because it was unique, but because it was painfully common.

As a legal leader, you pride yourself on strategy. You study precedent. You weigh evidence. Yet in your practice’s growth strategies, you might be flying blind. You need to start analyzing marketing data to make informed decisions.

The rise of data-driven decision making

The world doesn’t need another blog post touting the importance of “big data.” What it does need—especially in law—is honest, accessible guidance on how data can help us lead more effectively. That starts with a simple idea: data literacy.

Data literacy doesn’t mean becoming a data scientist. It means understanding how to read, question, and act on the information your marketing platforms are already generating.

Cultivating data literacy is crucial for overcoming barriers within organizations and fostering a data-driven culture among leaders. It enables informed decision-making and drives strategic actions that lead to organizational growth and innovation.

Marketing is no longer a black box of mystery or magic. It’s measurable. But to measure it well, and to make decisions that actually move the needle, you need to go beyond surface-level metrics and gut instincts.

And before you worry this will be dry or overwhelming, let me assure you: this is not about charts for charts’ sake. This is about profit, reputation, and control.

Understanding data literacy

Definition and importance

Data literacy is the ability to read, understand, analyze, manage, and act on data. In today’s data-driven world, this skill is indispensable. Organizations rely on data to make informed decisions and drive business outcomes, and individuals need to navigate the complexities of data to extract meaningful insights.

Improving data literacy involves developing a blend of technical, communication, and analytical skills. It’s not just about crunching numbers; it’s about understanding what those numbers mean and how they can be used to make better decisions. For leaders, this means moving beyond gut feelings and instinct to a more structured, evidence-based approach.

Why is data literacy so important? Because it empowers you to make data-driven decisions, identify trends and patterns, and optimize business processes. It helps build a data-driven culture where data is valued and used to drive innovation and growth. By improving data literacy, organizations can unlock the full potential of their data, gaining a competitive edge in the market.

What data literacy really means for a law firm leader

Think of it like this: You wouldn’t argue a case with partial discovery. So why are we running marketing campaigns without understanding what’s really working? At its core, data literacy is the ability to:

• Read the numbers
• Ask smart questions
• Spot trends
• Communicate insights to your team through data analysis

And in marketing, the types of data you encounter generally fall into four categories:

• Descriptive: What happened (e.g., website traffic, social media reach)
• Diagnostic: Why it happened (e.g., high bounce rate from mobile users)
• Predictive: What could happen next (e.g., lead scoring models, seasonality forecasts)
• Prescriptive: What you should do about it (e.g., AI-recommended ad adjustments)

Each plays a different role. If you’re only looking at traffic or impressions (descriptive), you’re missing the full picture. Worse yet, you might be making decisions based on vanity metrics.

Getting past the vanity metrics

Let’s be honest: It feels good to see big numbers.

100,000 impressions. 20,000 clicks. 5,000 pageviews.

But here’s the hard truth: those metrics rarely correlate directly with qualified leads. An overly broad ad campaign might inflate your traffic, but if those visitors bounce in five seconds or never convert, you’re buying air.

Instead, start by asking:

• How many real leads did we get?
• Where did they come from?
• What path did they take before contacting us?

Now you’re not just looking at metrics. You’re looking at business intelligence through data analytics.

And that brings us to one of the most important data literacy skills: contextual interpretation.

Context is king

Data insights on their own aren’t valuable. It’s just numbers. What makes it meaningful is context:

• Trends over time
• Comparison to past campaigns
• Segmentation by audience
• Alignment with your business goals

For example, a 3% conversion rate might seem low. But if last quarter’s was 1.5%, you’ve doubled your performance. That’s a win. Context turns noise into insight.

Similarly, segmenting your data by channel—PPC vs. email vs. organic search—shows you where your marketing dollars are actually working. Or let’s say you’re getting leads from LinkedIn, but those leads aren’t converting into signed clients. That’s a signal: either your messaging is misaligned, or the platform isn’t reaching the right people.

Without this kind of clarity, it’s easy to overspend on the wrong channels and underinvest in the ones quietly delivering results.

Spotting real patterns

When you build data literacy and foster a strong data culture, you start seeing meaningful patterns:

• Seasonality: Are you consistently slow in February? That might not be a fluke.
• Lead quality by channel: Are PPC leads converting better than SEO leads?
• Lag time: How long does it take from first touch to signed contract?

Even brand awareness, which many attorneys assume is unmeasurable, has an impact. Branded search terms, direct traffic, and social engagement tell a story. Your reputation is showing up in the data. But you have to know where (and how) to look.

This is where attribution models come in, and where they often get misunderstood.

The attribution trap

If you’re only using last-touch attribution, you might think your website did all the work. But the reality is, that visitor probably saw a Google ad, read an article, clicked an email, and only then filled out a form.

Multi-touch attribution helps tell the real story of how clients find and choose you. Is it perfect? No. But it’s far more accurate than giving all the credit to the last click. This is one of those areas where leaders get tripped up. They want a silver bullet. One perfect stat that tells them what to fund.

Instead, what you need is pattern recognition, data science, and probability-informed decisions.

Turning data insights into action

Okay, you understand the data. Now what? This is where many firms stall out. They have dashboards. They have reports. But they don’t know how to act on them due to a lack of data skills.

A data-literate leader knows how to:

• Ask their marketing team better questions
• Align marketing with business priorities
• Use predictive analytics for smarter budgeting

Here’s a practical example: Let’s say your CRM shows leads from one campaign tend to close faster and at higher value. Rather than spread your budget evenly across all campaigns, you shift investment toward the one delivering stronger ROI. Now you’re not just looking at the data—you’re letting it guide your strategy.

RELATED: What is data-driven marketing?

Measuring success and business outcomes

Evaluating data literacy and business outcomes

Measuring the success of a data literacy program is crucial for understanding its impact on your business. But how do you gauge this success? There are several key metrics to consider:

• Improvement in decision-making speed and quality: Are decisions being made faster and with better outcomes?
• Increase in data-driven decision-making: Is there a noticeable shift towards decisions based on data rather than intuition?
• Reduction in errors and mistakes: Are there fewer errors in data handling and interpretation?
• Improvement in customer satisfaction and engagement: Are customers happier and more engaged as a result of data-driven strategies?
• Increase in revenue and profitability: Is there a tangible financial benefit?

To evaluate the business outcomes of a data literacy program, consider metrics such as:

• Return on Investment (ROI): Are you seeing a good return on the resources invested in data literacy?
• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Is it costing less to acquire new customers?
• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): Are customers staying longer and spending more?
• Net Promoter Score (NPS): Are customers more likely to recommend your services?

By using these metrics, you can evaluate the effectiveness of your data literacy program and make data-driven decisions to enhance its impact on business outcomes.

RELATED: Is your PPC budget driving maximum ROI?

Navigating data privacy and ethical considerations

Data ethics and governance

Data privacy and ethical considerations are critical components of data literacy. As organizations collect, store, and use data, they must do so responsibly and ethically. This involves developing robust data governance policies and procedures to ensure data privacy and security.

Data ethics requires organizations to consider the potential impact of their data practices on individuals and society. Transparency is key. Be clear about your data collection and use practices, and always obtain informed consent from individuals before collecting their data.

Data governance involves establishing policies and procedures for managing data, including ensuring data quality, security, and privacy. It also means defining roles and responsibilities for data management and ensuring that data is used ethically and responsibly.

By navigating data privacy and ethical considerations, organizations can build trust with their customers and stakeholders. This trust is essential for a successful data literacy program and ensures that your data practices align with your organization’s values and principles.

Clearboard: Self-service analytics tools to get you there

You don’t need to build this from scratch. Tools like GA4, HubSpot, and SharpSpring already collect powerful marketing data. The challenge is making that data accessible, actionable, and aligned with your goals, which is why fostering a data literate workforce is essential. That’s exactly why we built Clearboard.

Clearboard isn’t just a dashboard. It’s a marketing command center built for business leaders, especially in complex, regulated industries like law. You get a high-level view of what’s working, the ability to dig deeper when you need to, and a way to finally connect your marketing investment to firm performance.

Because let’s be real: you don’t have time to play data detective. You need answers. Fast. Clearboard gives you that.

What data-literate leadership looks like

The best legal leaders I know aren’t obsessing over every metric. But they are asking better questions and enhancing their team’s data literacy.

They’re:

• Connecting marketing outcomes to firm growth
• Identifying which efforts to double down on
• Challenging assumptions with evidence
• Communicating with their teams using shared data, not just gut instinct

And they’re doing it with tools like Clearboard at their side. Not because they want to become marketers. But because they want to lead like the kind of businessperson they’d trust with their own firm.

LaFleur: Schedule a Clearboard demo

If you’re tired of wondering whether your marketing is working—and you’re ready to start leading with clarity on your data literacy journey—schedule a Clearboard demo today.

We’ll walk you through the data your firm already has, show you how to make sense of it, and help you turn it into better decisions.

You bring the ambition. We’ll bring the insight.