Terms like data have been hurled around quite a bit in the past 5 years or so quite often. But most of us are scared of the word, because let’s face it we weren’t very good at math.
The word data is anything and everything that can give you accurate insight about your business behind the scenes. Data can be any information that facilitates organizational structures, finances and decision making strategies.
The good news is there are some excellent AI powered Customer Data Platforms that can help you gain insights on the people who visit your webstore. If you are still not convinced on switching to a more data driven approach, here is a list:
1. Better Decision Making
According to a survey by Deloitte, even small startups have started generating data. Data collection and making decisions based on that data is a gold mine for any business. Nowadays any business that has a website, payment procedures or social media, all of them are collecting data. While there are many factors that influence the market, there is nothing that is as hard a backup as data. Businesses harness data to make decisions about several things such as finding new customers, retaining old ones, tracking social media interaction, improving marketing efforts and predicting sales trends etc.
2. Solve Problems strategically
Data helps you not only identify but also solve your problems very strategically. Imagine the horror, if you had a bad month in sales or an unsuccessful marketing campaign and you cannot come up with the exact reason as to why this happened? How can you uncover what went wrong? The answer is data analysis. Data helps you uncover performance breakdowns and improve processes over all. Sports teams are a great example of data collection. They constantly record their players and help them improve using the data gathered in their previous performances.
3. Improve Processes
Every company feels the effects of wasted money and time. Wasted efforts deplete money and resources and ultimately leads the organization to rock bottom. E.g a bad advertising campaign is a money sucker. When you get an ROI report (Return on Investment report) , you can dig into why certain channels are working and others are not. Such as maybe your website had great feedback but your social media handles are not performing so well. You can fix it with better visuals, engagement etc. Moreover, apps such as Mailchimp even offer insights on the emails that have been sent out to the point of them being opened or spamed in the customers inbox.
4. Understand Consumer Behaviour
Without data you are unable to profile your consumer base. If you don’t know your ideal customer then you will be unable to make products for them and neither will you be able to market properly. Moreover, without data you can’t tell where you are spending your money and what is the return received. Having data about when your website is being visited during the day/night. What are your hot sales and which season takes you out of the guessing game and puts your business in the race. We would recommend looking in to Business Intelligence solutions to take your small business to the next level
The reality of today is moving fast, if you are unable to use data in your favour. You will quickly become a business of the past. To keep up with changing customer needs and new technology , data is crucial. Let us know how data has transformed your day to day business in the comments below.
Read more:
Why Is Data Gathering And Analysis Vital To Your Online Store
