For the month of May, Sidepart is springing into one of tech’s hottest topics: Data Collection. In an era of digitization, the possibilities and potential for data are seemingly endless. To stay competitive in the market, businesses must know all the different ways they can use data to boost performance. Today’s article will look at the analysis part of data collection and how to unearth key insights.
You’ve done everything right. You started using Google Analytics, bought a great SaaS program and gathered a lot of customer data. But now what? Staring at an excel spreadsheet filled with numbers sure isn’t getting you, or your company, very far. This is where data analysis comes in. Using analytics tools is essential for finding the great insights that will help you read customers minds and reach your business goals.
Here are some easy ways to get started…
Combining Data Sources
Odds are, you’ve gathered data from many sources. Although this is great for building a large data bank, storing data in many places makes it hard to spot trends and data can easily get lost. The best thing to do is to put all the data on one platform so that it is easily available. This will make the analysis process much smoother and thorough, as everything you need will be in one place. Furthermore, centralizing your data allows for more visibility across all business systems so you can easily analyze data from both a departmental and company-wide view point.
Now you may be thinking, “gosh it’s going to take forever to manually combine all the data we’ve collected!”. Luckily, there are many self-service business intelligence (SSBI) programs that can help you with this! SSBI’s are programs you can buy that will merge all your data, draw out key insights and build reports. Using SSBI’s will cut your analysis time in half and is a great starting point.
Predictive Analytics
Not only can data analysis help you read customers minds, it can also be used to predict the future. After collecting and analyzing data for a few months, you can compare the data sets which often will show reoccurring trends in customer behaviour and department performance levels. These insights will help you build your business strategy so you can capitalize on these trends and reach your business goals.
Furthermore, in today’s world consumers are surrounded by advertisements, promotions and an endless selection of goods and services. Consequently, this can make it hard for businesses to stand out and gain market share. This makes using predictive analysis all the more valuable to business. Predictive analysis is a great way to better understand the market and your customers so that you can build a strong competitive advantage.
Although data analysis is great and very useful in decision making, it isn’t the be all end all. Data has its own flaws and, if something isn’t adding up there’s always room to rely on instincts and experience.
We’d love to chat! For all things digital reach out to info@sidepart.com
Referenced Cites
Guide for Big Data, Business Intelligence & Analytics for Small Business. (2019, April 09). Retrieved from https://www.datapine.com/blog/business-intelligence-for-small-business/
Why is Business Intelligence Software Useful? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://financesonline.com/why-is-business-intelligence-software-useful/
10 Reasons Why You Need a True Self-Service BI Tool. (2019, January 04). Retrieved from https://www.datapine.com/blog/10-reasons-for-self-service-bi-tools/
New Market Insight. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://blog.getchee.com/10-reasons-you-should-be-using-a-business-intelligence-tool/
Harrison, K. (2018, May 09). What Your Startup Needs To Know About Predictive Analytics (It Is Not As Scary As It Sounds). Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/kateharrison/2018/05/09/what-your-startup-needs-to-know-about-predictive-analytics-it-is-not-as-scary-as-it-sounds/#56f2fc0f71a0
