Big or small, every business can benefit from collecting and analyzing data to improve its performance. The key is understanding what kind of data will help your business the most so you know where to invest your time, energy, and resources.
Making time to look at consumer-data capabilities is always the best place to start if you want to transform your business into an industry dominator.
The Big Deal About Data
Data is the cluster of statistics and information that business leaders can refer back to for analysis, primarily stored in digital formats—we can thank the advancements in computer science technology for that. When we think about data and how businesses can use it to gain more success, it’s hard not to imagine someone sitting at a desk frantically crunching numbers on a calculator. And while that is a part of the process (looking at the numbers, not frantically punching a calculator) along with other technical stuff, data doesn’t just show us historical business trends. It also helps us understand what potential the future could hold.
Customers’ needs constantly change, and businesses must have a data-driven culture to make the best decisions. According to a Deloitte survey, 49% of respondents claim that data analytics helps them make better business decisions; 16% say that it enables key strategic initiatives; and 10% say it helps them improve relationships with customers and business partners.
It might not seem like much, but data can provide maximum ROI and add to your bottom line when used to its full advantage. Many businesses use data to better understand their customers’ frustrations and unmet needs so they can reinvent products and services and personalize their advertising and marketing.
Related Reading: How Personalized Data Plus Customer Privacy Can Boost Sales
How Data Can Help Your Business
It’s essential to analyze and re-analyze your audience segments, rework customer personas, and determine their pain points. The best way to do that is through data.
Any business with a website, a social media presence, and accepting various electronic payments collects data about customers, user habits, web traffic, demographics, and more. How do you know who your customers are or if your B2B marketing strategies are even as effective as you think? Good data should be treated as an asset because the benefits are necessary to thrive in a competitive market.
More Efficient Operations
Data helps reduce the time spent on certain tasks and can streamline various company operations—everyone loves saving time. When you have a better understanding of what your audience wants and the right data you need, it’s easier to track your company’s performance against your goals and benchmarks.
Related Reading: The Importance of Connecting With Your Audience in Marketing
Sports teams, for example, use data to ensure players are getting better. There probably isn’t a professional team today that doesn’t have a team of data collectors and analysts to help support and improve the overall performance on the respective fields.
Better Customer Service
Data analytics provide more insights into your customers, revealing their preferences, interests, concerns, and more. If you notice a product is becoming more popular, you can manufacture more of it to keep up with demand. Likewise, tailoring your customer service will help build stronger bonds.
Improved Marketing Tactics
If you’re working with a database full of customer information, you have the chance to take your marketing tactics to new heights. Consumer data shows you where your audience is coming across your brand, how likely they are to interact, and what content resonates with them the most. This information allows you to adjust your strategy as necessary and ensure each digital campaign performs optimally and always yields results.
Embrace The Competition
Data analysis can take you far, but it’s still important to do your due diligence. Perform competitor research, look at what they are doing, and consider how you stack up—let your competition push you to improve. A successful company understands that happy customers are repeat customers, so what can you do to make them stay?
Remember that 70% of the buyer’s journey happens independently. Your prospects are performing independent research and comparing your products with competitors through dark social. Take their ideas and make them your own—and expect they will do the same! By collecting information on customer needs and wants through data and your own competitor examination, your company can deliver the perfect product every single time: an experience no competitor has been able to offer them yet.
Not only will businesses that do not invest in data miss the benefits of using it, but they also risk losing customers and market share. If you’re not using data to uncover insights that will guide your business into the future, you will become a business of the past.
If your company isn’t already data-driven, it’s time to make it a priority. Finding a place to start can be challenging, so if you’re feeling stuck, we’d love to help. Contact us for more information about how your brand can beat the competition.
