5 Reasons to become a data-driven business

Data refers to a lot of things and comes in many forms. From understanding customer preferences to tracking your courier’s delivery performance, there are almost unlimited ways data can give valuable business insight. For business owners, data is essential for informing decision making.    But what can you do with this insight and why should you care? Being data-driven has a whole host of benefits. Research has found that  88% of business leaders believe that collecting and using data helps them to stay on top of customer needs and trends. Ultimately, this enables them to stay relevant despite changing customer behaviours and respond in a way that prepares their business for the future. 

  Here are just a few business benefits of tapping into data: 

Make better business decisions 

When faced with all the decisions that come with owning a business, knowing the right thing to do can sometimes be a challenge. This is where data can make a big difference in giving you the insight to see where your business is performing – and where it isn’t. Then, you can assess what the best next steps are.    Do you need to put more resources into a certain area? Are the changes you made to your website attracting new customers? Is your new pricing strategy yielding the results? Data can help you answer these types of questions and empower you to act on what really matters. For example, you might find that your financial manager is struggling to prepare key statements in time for the end-of-month budget. Data can highlight these inefficiencies and signal a need for investment in more staff or better software. In this way you can address the right issues and improve your business performance.   

Stop wasting time and money 

With the right data in hand, you can identify and cut unnecessary costs. Maybe you’re spending money on inefficient software or systems that your employees just don’t use, or running outdated equipment which is running up you electricity bill. Data gives you the insight needed to understand the areas that are draining your budgets. Once this unnecessary spending has been cut, the money saved can be redirected towards areas that really make a difference in the running and growth of your business.    At the same time, data can also give you the view of which tasks can or should be automated. Imagine your customer service team is spending large amounts of time responding to the same type of email queries, every day – data can be used to identify this and automated solutions can ensure staff time is freed up to spend on growth-oriented activities. 

Get to know your customers better 

  Getting to grips with what your customers really need is essential if you want to build strong relationships with them. Data is the key to making staying close to your customers and ensuring they come back and remain loyal.    Every time a customer interacts with your business, this unlocks a vital piece of information about their preferences. This can be anything from how they engage with your business on social media or what queries they log with customers services. All of this information can be pieced together to create, a) a detailed and up-to-date record each customer that can be used for personalised product recommendations or rewards and b) an in-depth understanding of what your customer base, at large, really needs and wants. By building this profile of your target audience, you are empowered to provide a service that is tailored to their needs and preferences. Ultimately, satisfied customers are loyal customers and data can help you achieve this.  

Hire the right talent 

  Having staff with the right skills is also important for achieving business success. Data can help you ensure that you’re hiring the best people for the job. For example, if a large part of your business is project based, but you don’t have the employees to lead and manage these projects, employee data and performance metrics can highlight and identify what skills are missing. You’ll then be able to plug the gaps by matching candidate experience with the demands of the business or project at hand.  

Become more sustainable  

 Being a truly sustainable business means embracing data to help you understand where your business can reduce its negative impacts. Data is helping businesses go green by enabling a view of environmental ‘spend’. 

In particular, data illuminates (pun intended ;) the usage of electricity by your business and this enables you to implement measures that limit your business electricity usage. For example, you could trade in you equipment for a greener alternative, or start with something as simple as making sure you’re switching off computers and lights when the office is closed. Reducing costs while saving the planet? It’s a no brainer!   

Data is the key to a smarter business 

When it comes to opportunities data has for unlocking growth in your business, we have only scratched the surface! As data becomes more sophisticated and accessible, using it in your day-to-day operations will become crucial to keep ahead of your competitors. Once you start taking advantage of these insights, you’ll set your business up for unrivalled success in the future.