Why Your Business Needs To Be A Part Of The Data Driven World

Sometimes having to sift through and interpret data can be an overwhelming task.  From numbers to charts, it all can be a little confusing at times. Most people would rather just skip to the conclusion instead of really diving into the numbers. Truth is it’s a data driven world now. 

When running a business, that could lead to big problems.  The key component, however, to collecting data is that it needs to be relevant.  The data collection should be focused on your business plan.  Data that is irrelevant is a waste of time and makes looking at the numbers more daunting than it needs to be. The data can help to support your business goals or allow you the opportunity to create new goals to focus on moving forward.

But fear not, there are ways to make this task a little bit easier to understand.  Today we will be looking at some of the reasons why data is important and some tools to help you better understand that data.

Numbers Don’t Lie

Professional athletes are able to negotiate outrageous contracts based on their statistics.  What they do on the field is clearly shown by their stats. The lower the stats, the lower the payday and vice versa.  The numbers don’t lie.

If you are trying to make a critical organizational decision, you need to have numbers to support your plan.  And, having the correct numbers can help to prove that your decision is indisputable. When you don’t have numbers to back up what you are trying to accomplish, it leaves people the opportunity to question it and argue the subjectiveness of the decision.

When you have clear, concrete data in front of you, it is hard for anyone to argue with you.  The key is being able to present that data in a way that everyone can understand and have visuals available to show the effects on the business.  

And the good news is, there is help there for you!  There are many companies and programs available to help you sort through and understand your data.  For example, you can collect up to 8x as much data with https://spiro.ai/ as well as many other features that can help make a business presentation look flawless.

Strengthen Your Strategies

When making decisions for the company, it is important to come up with a hypothesis in which you can test to produce data.  Having a hypothesis with data, you can come up with a measurable strategy.

The purpose of having a hypothesis is that it allows your employees to be proactive in executing the strategy.  A hypothesis is always able to be tweaked as you notice things that seem to be veering off the course. The goal, overall, is to be proactive with potential problems vs. being reactive.  

Customer Relationships

When you have strong data to support your ideas, you will have the opportunity to develop better relationships with your customers.  You will be able to educate them on exactly what you are doing and have numbers to support your claims.

Understanding the data of your website can also help to develop stronger connections.  Study the kind of traffic that is coming to your website and then tailor your content based on that data.  Figure out what parts of your websites are getting the most hits and then you can construct your website to meet those demands.  You can use programs such as Google Analytics to help evaluate your website data.

You will also have the opportunity to understand the logistics behind your emails.  The more you email your customers, the more they may get annoyed with your company. Trying to figure out how often and the best time to contact your customers can lead to stronger customer appreciation for not overdoing it and recognizing what works best for them.  

Strengthen Employee Focus

Data is a way to show which teams are performing and which ones are not.  It is an opportunity for your business to showcase what individuals or teams are accomplishing as well as a learning opportunity for those who may be underperforming.

It is also a way that you can clearly show the staff what their work is doing.  Where their strengths are as well as their weaknesses. It provides a purpose for their jobs.  This data can provide you with an opportunity to decide on teams that could work well together on different tasks moving forward.

The Usefulness of Time

Having solid data can provide you with an idea of how your employees time can be best spent.  There is a good chance the data will reveal areas where your staff is spending too much time on something that isn’t yielding the results that you had imagined.  This will provide you with an opportunity to shut that task down and allow them to focus their energy on something else.

Your staff will really appreciate having this information as well.  They would hate to find out that they’ve been wasting their time on projects that are not producing the desired results.  This can make them feel defeated and less motivated to keep working at their potential.

In Conclusion…

Data Driven WorldData is a protective measure that you can take to help guide your business.  You should make all data very transparent to your staff and to stakeholders in the business.  This shows that you are not covering up any flaws, but rather exposing them and developing strategies to correct them.  You will receive credibility with all involved that you are keeping all stakeholders in the business informed on the direction of the company.

Data can be an overwhelming task, but one that will reap more benefits in the end then negatives.  Invest some time in finding the best programs, like the one mentioned earlier, that can help you track and organize your data.  Don’t be afraid of the results…embrace them knowing it is going to make your business even stronger!

2 Comments

  • Kate Sarsfield

    Even the mention of the word ‘numbers’ makes my eyes glaze over – my brain works in pictures. I have to be able to visualise something in order to understand it properly. My niece uses Google Analytics in her college research & how I wish it had been around in my time!

  • Rosie

    This does sound good. I actually never even heard of Google Analytics before. I don’t know how you find out about all this! It is mind boggling to me!

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