November 2019 – DataLabs

In a modern data-driven world, businesses that use data to good advantage are at the top of their game. But for many, the amount of data can be too large to handle, mainly because they don’t have apt specialists or technologies such as BI tools. The latter are important because they allow you to collect unstructured data from various resources, analyze it, and derive insights from it. There are lots of BI solutions serving particular goals but the common benefits they offer are a reduction in cost and time spent on data management, an increase in revenue, ability to access data in real-time and more.

BI tools can boost performance in any part of your company, however, where they are needed the most is the financial department, the marketing department, and CRM.

Harnessing the power of financial data

The significance of BI tools for the department of finance can hardly be overstated as the opportunities they offer are immense.

BI tools can help your company discern internal and external factors that affect your market performance. BI dashboards will present the holistic view of your firm’s financial situation allowing you to detect and deal with problem areas in time. Analysis of historical data will reveal potential risks as well as future trends so that you can build more effective strategies.

Predictive analytics tools will be of great service when it comes to gaining insight into customers, products, and even employees. For example, you can target profitable customers more efficiently by studying their buying patterns and demographic information which BI tools can gather.

It will also be easier to foresee fluctuations in the popularity of a product and avoid overstocking or understocking.

Besides, you can use BI tools to retain employees. Losing employees is damaging both to the company image and performance, so by analyzing the behavior of the current employees and the ones who left, you can take preventive measures and address the issues faster.

Finally, nothing improves the ability to take actionable decisions better than a clear understanding of the company’s KPIs, which is another factor every executive needs to keep a close eye on. BI tools will provide you with the up-to-date report on the crucial financial figures such the Operating Cash Flow, Net Profit Margin, Burn Rate, etc.

The important thing to note, however, is that it’s imperative to standardize data in your organization before the implementation of a BI tool. Standardized data makes financial reporting speedier and more straightforward because data isn’t being pulled from multiple resources which may contain conflicting or simply wrong information.

Planning successful marketing strategies

Marketers heavily rely on data when planning campaigns, targeting potential clients and allocating resources. So, no matter how good a marketing strategy looks on paper, if it’s based on inaccurate data, it won’t get you anywhere. This is another field where BI tools can save the day by presenting data in a way that will make marketing strategies bulletproof.

As we’ve pointed out earlier, BI tools can help narrow down the target audience and reach the right people at the right time. But the abilities of analytics software go well beyond analyzing demographics, and to see the bigger picture, it’s necessary to study engagement, purchasing and interacting patterns, and ROI.

Social analytics tools will be useful for creating a comprehensive target audience profile because apart from analyzing customer behavior, you can also gain insight into their thought process.

Social analytic tools comprise two facets: web analytics and social media analytics. Web analytics will show who visits your website, where they come from and what draws their interest. These tools highlight the successful areas of the site as well as the links that generate traffic.

Social analytics tools collect information from posts, comments, likes, shares, etc. on Facebook, Twitter and other social media. Such data allows to understand consumers’ needs and wants, take note of the criticism and praise, and adjust the marketing campaign accordingly.

Lastly, marketers must keep track of KPIs as well to evaluate the success of the campaign. Metrics like Cost Per Lead acquisition reveal the cost of each lead and where the most expensive and valuable ones come from.

Improving customer relations

We’ve already outlined how BI tools can offer a glance into the mind of a customer and how easy nowadays it is to listen to what they have to say. Some would argue pleasing modern consumers seems harder than before, but with the apt tools and the right attitude you’ll find out it’s quite simple.

When a person contacts customer service, they expect to receive a personalized solution to whatever problem they have. Having collected necessary data on this client, you can already predict what may trouble them and how to address this problem. As a result, the person feels heard and their opinion appreciated. This becomes a pleasant and authentic experience for both sides.

To further empower your customers, implement a BI tool they can use to manage their costs and control what they pay for. This way they won’t be feeling like a mindless puppet knowing they also have a say in the matter.

Conclusion

The influx of data can open businesses to a lot of exciting possibilities once they learn how to use BI tools. Business intelligence can optimize performance across the whole organization and help you gain a sustainable competitive edge. It may be considered one of the most valuable business assets these days since it can improve not only the financial health of your company but also your marketing strategy and customer service.

Nowadays, companies gather oceans of personal data and payment information from customers. According to numerous researches, the global amount of data will keep rising, thus prompting businesses to reconsider the way they handle the customer data. As an entrepreneur, you ought to contemplate whether data flowing through your organization is an asset or a liability.

Inaccurate data can be bothersome and cause a lot of problems. It won’t accurately show in which direction your organization is going, and it’ll impede business operations and processes, which in a post-GDPR world leads to fines. Furthermore, unreliable customer data will undermine your relationships with clients, business partners, and suppliers.

Once you contemplate the danger of data breaches and the ensuing penalties, you realize the existence of your company is tied to the way you deal with customer data. Therefore, you need to see it as an asset instead of a liability, and here’s how to accomplish this.

Pinpoint and tackle data challenges

Data comes from a multitude of resources, so keep in mind some data may jeopardize your system and cause a breach. To avoid this, it is important to standardize and cleanse all data sources frequently. Additionally, one needs to foster a culture of accountability and ownership within their employees so that everyone feels a personal responsibility for the data passing through their system.

Develop a Data-Oriented culture

Fostering a culture that will ensure data quality is desirable, too. If your company collects personal and payment information from the clients, establishing a data managing strategy is a must. But for it to work, you need to synchronize your processes and systems first.

As you grow your business, the most advisable course of action is to instill the importance of cybersecurity and data privacy in your employees. Encouraging a data-oriented culture will result in everyone treating each data set as the asset it is. The payoff of promoting such culture will be invaluable to your company, and you’ll realize this when it’s time to reap all the rewards.

You’ll also be able to gain insights into the market, but to do it effectively, consider implementing an automated policy that will ensure the consistency of your data. What’s more, an automated solution can standardize data quality across the whole organization.

Do the cleanup

A substantial amount of customer data you collect is insignificant. Keeping all the data will only weigh you down as you’ll be struggling to reach set objectives. It’s not sensible to spend resources on storing and securing unnecessary and disorderly data, which is why you should get rid of it. If unsure of the validity of your data, conduct an audit to determine what you have and whether it’s important or not.

Use data to plan ahead

Since accurate customer data sheds light on your company’s performance, it should become an integral part of your operational setup. Utilize it when making decisions and plans, integrating strategies, and building partnerships. A data strategy, created with all your organization’s needs in mind, will propel you towards your business objectives.

Make the most out of data

To benefit from the data and turn it into an asset, you need to exercise control over it and develop a data-focused strategy that could help you derive value from every data set you have.

Turning customer data into asset calls for innovative data analytics, AI, machine learning, and big data solutions. These will help you understand data better and, as a result, gain insights faster. You’ll start noticing more exciting business opportunities, and if the data is accurate, you’ll also improve your marketing, sales, and customer service.

Customer data doesn’t have to be a liability because you’ve got all the power to transform it into an asset for your business. It requires time and patience, but the pay-off will be worth it.