If McKinsey Global Institute research on data-driven organizations is anything to go by, organizations using Business Analytics now acquire 23 times more customers than others and are six times more likely to retain them, thereby becoming 19 times more profitable than those not using it.
Business Analytics provides organizations with a tremendous competitive advantage by data-driven decision making. Thus, it comes as no surprise that more and more businesses are using Analytics for driving strategic business decisions.
What is Business Analytics?
Business Analytics is the science of analyzing data, through a combination of business intelligence, computer programming and data analytics, to realize patterns that help in developing strategies. It is a systematic exploration of an organization’s data through statistical analysis. Business Analytics comes in handy for companies using data-driven decision making.
According to Interactive Data Corporation, data creation will touch 163 zettabytes by 2025, and it comes as no surprise that Business Analytics industry is expected to grow to be $71.1 billion by 2022 growing at a CAGR of 7%.
How Business Analytics helps in making data-driven decisions?
#1 Creating a business plan
Business Analytics helps in acquiring a detailed road map of what is currently transpiring in your business by generating real-time interaction. By using business performance solutions, you can also forecast trends in sales, turnover and growth. Business Analytics helps in making data-driven decisions that enable you to develop an in-depth business plan for the next phase.
#2 Developing a marketing campaign
Business Analytics allows you to analyze and generate data on your target audience and competitors. This data facilitates in making decisions regarding the kind of effective marketing campaign needed for your business. Getting hold of such information also allows you to narrow down branding details and customer customer data, thereby helping in differentiating your business from those of your competitors. This gives your business a competitive edge since it places you in a position to offer something new to your customers. Business Analytics not only helps in using data for targeted marketing but also helps in business development decisions.
#3 Feedback from the target audience
It is important to not only have a look at your current customer data but also to research what feedback your target audience is submitting, as also what they are saying about your company and brand in various parts of the region or country. Business Analytics makes social media analysis possible that you can combine with your internal customer data. By creating a profile of your current and potential customers allows you to find your ideal demographic target. By comparing this demographic target with the census data, available in the public domain, and identifying where your business has greater potential, you can make your business decisions based on this. Likewise, you can use Business Analytics to research your competition to decide the best course of action.
#4 Expansion planning
Using Business Analytics for making data-driven decisions is particularly handy if you are thinking of expanding your business in a new location by opening a branch, restaurant or office. The data already possessed by you about your growing customer base and information regarding your equipment, asset maintenance, employee payment and scheduling of delivery or distribution, can be used for Analytics to build a detailed expansion plan. Furthermore, Business Analytics helps in acquiring insights in visualizations and dashboards that can then be used for further research with business intelligence. Since the results allow you to interact with the results, you can use the information to develop your expansion plan.
#5 Using predictive insights
Business Analytics provides predictive insights that can help in always remaining a step ahead of your competitors. This is because it facilitates studying factors that influence the outcomes. It also provides the power of decision optimization to reassure you that you are on the right path. Using Business Analytics, you can tackle challenges faced in business, solving problems speedily and improving performance by data-driven decision making.
Conclusion
Today, Business Analytics has become an indispensable tool for data-driven decision making. With it, you can streamline internal business processes, identify consumer trends, receive constant feedback and strive from improvement. It also makes data governance, planning and predictive insights possible to enable you to take necessary steps to grow your business.
You are right, any data and the correct use of it is a great opportunity. To manage your businesses and different marketing companies, your advertising, allocate budgets and effectively engage in promotion, you need to understand and analyze the data. Even tools like call tracking, Google Analytics, these are super cool solutions