For the month of May, Sidepart is springing into one of tech’s hottest topics: Data Collection. In an era of digitalization, 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 explore the importance of data collection and unearth some of the key insights data can reveal for your business.
Making decisions is hard. Making decisions is even harder when you don’t have all the information. Imagine you have to decide which product line a company should launch. The catch? You have to make this decision knowing nothing about the market or possible customers. This is not a choice most people would want to make.
Now, realistically, no one would ask an employee to make product launch decisions having no information. Instead, it would be expected that they do their research and make an informed choice. So where might an employee go to do their research and gather this important info? Often, they’ll look to data.
Learning Through Data
Data is often the starting point for finding a lot of information essential to your business. Data can tell you where you should spend your money, where the market is going and even what time of day you are most likely to sell products. These insights are key for businesses who want to stay competitive and be successful.
Here are just a few of the ways in which data can help your business…
Market Trends
Markets are always changing, and businesses must also change to stay successful. Collecting data on market trends, outside influences and competitor actions will help businesses better predict and be ready for changes.
Customer Satisfaction
Happy customers are key for almost all successful businesses. Having data on customer demographics, spending patterns and likes/dislikes, helps businesses to tailor their products/services and make sure customers have a great experience. Similarly, this kind of data will help to make sure your customers do not leave to go to competitors.
Advertising Budget
Knowing who your customers are helps businesses choose which advertising tools are strongest. Customer data can show which social sites your customers use, what newspapers they read and what content they like best. This data will help companies make sure they’re spending money on ads that work and are getting the most from their budget!
Employee’s
A company is only as strong as the people that work there. Therefore, there is a lot of value in knowing what incentives, environment and structure you team likes best. Through collecting this data on employee’s, businesses can boost satisfaction, performance and culture.
Inventory
Knowing the buying habits of your customer base helps businesses predict future demand. This allows businesses to better handle their inventory so that they can meet demand and avoid pricey holding costs.
Return on Assets
Getting strong returns on assets is important for any businesses financial health. Collecting data on how, when and why assets are being used, will help businesses handle their assets better and boost returns.
Finding the Right Fit
Although there are many upsides to data collection, these benefits are only gained if businesses know what data to collect. There is an endless amount of data to chase but, not all data is useful. Just think, getting a lot of data on car sales is not helpful if you’re selling t-shirts but, may be if you have a carwash. To save time and money, businesses must first know what data they need before they begin collecting.
Additionally, while data is a good starting point for decision making, there are some limitations. Data does not hold all the answers and often, should be paired with intuition and critical thinking when making big choices.
Stay tuned for upcoming articles to learn more about big topics in the data sphere.
We’d love to chat! For all things digital reach out to info@sidepart.com
Referenced Sites
Uzialko, A. C. (2018, August 03). How and Why Businesses Collect Consumer Data. Retrieved from https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/10625-businesses-collecting-data.html
The Importance of Data Collection for Your Business. (2015, September 13). Retrieved from https://nektardata.com/the-importance-of-data-collection-for-your-business/
Why Is Data Important for Your Business? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.grow.com/blog/data-important-business
