Importance of Keeping Track of Business Analytics

Daniel A., May 12, 2022

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Any business has so many factors that contribute to it that ultimately allow for it to be deemed successful. Starting from the ground level, where the essential workers are, to the top where the heads of the departments reside, that keeps the business afloat. However, one of the most important criteria is decision-making, and backing those decisions is the business analytics that is gathered, reported, and studied. 

Specifically, business analytics is defined as the combination of skills, technologies, and practices used to examine an organization’s data and performance as a way to gain insights and make data-driven decisions in the future using statistical analysis. If you make use of business analytics correctly, it can help in accurately predicting future events that are related to the actions of consumers and market trends. Also, it can assist in making more efficient processes that could lead to increased earnings.

Importance of Keeping Track of Business Analytics

The Driving Force Behind Your Business

Based on the definition of business analytics, you can begin to see how useful these metrics can be to your thriving business. With so much competition in the world, it has become an “only the strong survive” mentality for most. Thus there is a premium on paying attention to your business’s analytics. Information that you will be able to learn about your company will ultimately show you how you should strategize, improve and deliver the best service possible. Also, it will give you future insights into the way you can maneuver your business to get ahead of the curve.

Persona

The best part of business analytics being a primary need these days is that we now have so many digital options to utilize. One of the best options you can use is a platform called Persona. For starters, this platform is backed by Stripe Payments and Goldman Sachs so validity is not an issue. Also, it is 100% digital. A main feature of the app is the ability to track your business analytics. They provide visibility into how you are growing, which opportunities you may have overlooked, and which of your clients you’re at risk of losing. All of this information is kept so you do not have to do your deep dive but rather take in the details given from the app and apply it where need be. 

Beyond just the business analytics, your clients can book through the app and you can collect payments, there are no fees for monthly, overdraft, or minimum balance requirements. Overall, this is an app that is essential to your business’s growth.

keep Track of your Business Analytics

Four Primary Methods of Business Analysis

There are four methods for business analysis but they are not necessarily separate entities because they are all implemented in different stages starting from the simplest to the most complex and none of the methods is more important than the other as it depends on what you are trying to achieve using your analytics. 

Using this information, your data can be cleaned, dissected, and absorbed in a way that makes it possible to create solutions for any issue you may face.

  • Descriptive analytics: This analyzes data from the past and present to identify trends and patterns by using data mining and data aggregation. Companies tend to use this type of analytics to gauge customer behavior and help craft marketing strategies for them.
  • Diagnostic analytics: This interprets data to help you understand why something has happened and how future trends will influence those conditions. Once an understanding is reached on the likelihood of the event and why an event may occur, algorithms are used for classification and regression. 
  • Predictive analysis: This uses statistical models and machine learning to forecast future events based on models created from the descriptive analysis. Sales and marketing teams often use this to forecast the opinions of specific customers based on social media data.
  • Prescriptive analysis: This builds on predictive analysis by recommending certain courses of action that will likely lead to the achievement of future desired goals. This is often used to match various options to the real-time needs of a customer. 

More Informed Decision-Making 

As mentioned prior, business analytics can be a valuable tool when approaching an important strategic decision. For example, in 2018, Uber upgraded its Customer Obsession Ticket Assistant. This was a tool that allowed their agents to improve their speed and accuracy when responding to tickets. Prescriptive analysis was used to see if the new version of the product would be better than its original version. A method called A/B testing, commonly used in this kind of analysis, helped compare the two outcomes. The information received was that the updated product led to faster service, more accurate resolution accommodations, and higher customer service scores. Gaining the knowledge of this saved Uber millions of dollars. 

You cannot place a value on the ability to have verified answers to issues and trials that your business will face with new ideas and changing from old ones.

Greater Revenue

Another reason that business analytics is important for companies to take seriously is because of the increase in revenue that it will inevitably provide them. Research has shown that companies that invest in having this information have a six percent jump in profits on average. This percentage actually can jump to nine percent if the investment has spanned over 5 years. 

A recent study by the Business Application Research Center found that businesses that can quantify their gains from analyzing data report an average of eight percent increase in revenue and a ten percent reduction in costs. Thus, not only are you gaining money but also saving money which is the gold standard for any thriving business.  

Improved Operational Efficiency 

Outside of strictly financial gains, business analytics can help you improve the overall way you have your business function operationally. It has been found, according to a KPMG report, that many companies make heavy usage of predictive analysis to be able to foresee maintenance and other operational issues before they become larger problems. For example, a mobile network operator can use this analysis to anticipate possible outages days before it occurs. With this information becoming known, they can now prevent outages with timely maintenance, which ends up saving them money because it keeps everything running as it should.

Why Are Businesses Struggling to Use Business Analytics? 

As good as the outcome usually is for those that invest in business analytics, it is still not relied upon by nearly enough businesses worldwide, especially in the US. Three reasons why businesses are not using it are:

  • Manpower: Data analytics experts are in high demand within today’s talent pool. More and more companies are discovering the usefulness of data analytics so as that number rises so will the need for more experts. 
  • Management: Piggybacking off the last bullet point, there is just not enough known information about business analytics thus management of business and companies are not equipped. The gathering, storing, and analyzing of massive amounts of data is more than most businesses can understand which makes their infrastructure not ready to receive it either.
  • Movement: Data needs to flow freely between people and departments for it all to come together and make sense, however, things like customer information are not always shared consistently because of a lack of “know-how”.
Business Analytics is important for you

Simplifying Your Data Analysis Strategy

A lot has been said in this article about business analytics and how important it is or can be to your firm. However, we understand it can be a bit overwhelming and leave someone in a space where they don’t even know where to begin. Thus, we will offer some assistance by breaking down the flow of how things should go. 

To create a solid foundation for planning and executing your big data strategy find out:

  • Who owns and manages your data?
  • What data do you already have?
  • Where does your data reside?
  • How are you currently using it?
  • Which third-party data sources your business relies on?

The answers to these questions will disclose:

  • The number of data sources you are using.
  • The amount of overlap that exists between them.
  • Duplicate data in one area and not another.
  • Inaccurate third-party data. 

Businesses that feel they do not have the properly equipped professionals to manage and interpret data should create a business analytics team consisting of at least:

  • A statistician to help answer main research questions using the data at hand.
  • An IT professional to provide insight into effective data systems.
  • A line manager uses data to offer workable solutions and drive innovations. 
  • (It is rare but possible, to find an individual who is an expert in all three facets)

Closing 

Businesses that find a way to make use of data and analytics can build a solid structure and give themselves a view of the company in a crystal clear, understandable fashion. If you can turn your data findings into action that you utilize within your day-to-day and overall business makeup it can turn into effective business decisions that will sustain your business for the long haul.        

Persona is the #1 management platform for independent business owners. it's 100% free, download it now.

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Persona is the #1 management platform for independent business owners. Download it now, it's 100% free.

GET STARTED >>
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