A business stubborn to use data collected from its users and industry is likely to fail in the long-run. Taking care of business fundamentals is as important to businesses as the basics for top athletes.
Why?
Many old-school businesses are unable to adapt to modern trends and shifts in the market, Inc magazine found. They’re riding on gut instinct or concrete practices pushing decades in operation. They’re simply too old to compete.
What’s keeping them afloat is whatever’s left of their brand image and dying customer base.
Data creates the opportunity to make informed, logical decisions for the direction and growth of the business. It’s the data which leads to improvements which are reflected by a bump in the bottom line.
How can data be used to improve a business? Glad you asked …
- Reduce friction – Understanding what’s preventing a visitor from completing the transaction by identifying the key areas that lead to shopping cart abandonment. See heat mapping, Google analytics, and UI optimization techniques to make improvements.
- Visualization – Reducing the slog of reporting using cloud services and dashboards; these tools work with integrated systems such as Microsoft Power BI to generate easy-to-understand reports and analytics. See PowerBI pricing and how to get started.
- Customer acquisition – Not everyone is a customer. There are select segments of the market and further groups which are the worthwhile individuals to bring on board. These individuals are loyal and understand the value of premium prices. Data can be used to find these types of customers. Do this through customer surveys, social media analytics, customer reports, and feedback from CR/sales reps.
- Conversion optimization – What is the ROI of the campaigns and efforts? Don’t know? It’s because data isn’t utilized. Data will provide detailed information on copy, platforms, media, and all other aspects of a campaign. This information can be tweaked to improve conversion rates which, as you know, improve sales. Try your hand at A/B testing.
- Market penetration – Ordering 10,000+ units of a product or spending loads of money for software development is business suicide if it hasn’t been tested. Data collected from short-run campaigns will ultimately tailor the direction of the business. This data is obtained through a variety of means whether it’s using social platforms, selling through popular eCommerce channels (like Amazon or eBay), local sales, or lead generation with the use of a website.
- Expanding operations – Internal data of employees and business operations will allow operational managers to make logical decisions on when to upgrade and expand business operations. Quick reactions to a spike could be beneficial to the on-going growth of the business or burn through capital reserves if it’s a trend. Data will provide this information. Information is gathered in this manner using employee surveys, industry reports, tactical marketing strategies, and sales analytics.
- Consumer satisfaction – Customer service is a cornerstone of the business. Improving consumer interaction is a delicate balance of trial and error – along with educating CR reps with best practices and procedures. These procedures are refined from the calls, emails, live chats, and personal interactions. It creates a baseline. Learn from experts, collect data, condense the information, and create new outlines for customer service personnel.
A trust in data creates the possibility to keep business going. It fuels the creativity and logic behind the actions which lead to growth and improvement.
And to think … that data is already present – it just needs to be tapped.
Make it a priority to collect website analytics, customer service Q&A, social feedback/reviews, advice from experts and authority figures, and insights from best practices & reports. Knowledge is power.
How does your business use information and data to make improvements to the bottom line?
