As a business owner what is your biggest challenge? Most business owners will more than likely say one of two things – wanting more customers or wanting more profits. So how do you get those? That seems about as difficult of a question as “what is the meaning of life.” But believe it or not, the answer lies in one word – DATA!
Across industries, organizations are generating vast amounts of data which, in turn, has heightened the need for how to interpret and analyze that data. Research has shown that a clear financial payoff can come from investing in data analysis, up to six percent average increase in profits.
Additionally, a recent study by the Business Application Research Center (BARC) found that businesses able to quantify their gains from analyzing data report an average 10 percent reduction in costs. Analytics can be used to fine-tune business operations, and even to report on emerging trends in infrastructure and anticipate maintenance and operational issues before they happen.
Realistically a small business owner can’t afford all that is needed in terms of in-house personnel to really interpret and analyze data. We are talking salaries well into the $100,000 for a Business Analyst – not to mention a Report Developer which could run another $80,000 annually. Business owners can reduce cost by using business analytics software, such as Thrive Analytics by Vesta. This software uses algorithms to extract insights from company data and display it in easy to understand dashboards and reports, making this method much more approachable for businesses in terms of dollars.
Companies that embrace data and analytics initiatives can experience significant financial returns – outweighing the cost of having such programs. Businesses that don’t use data, will eventually fall behind, having the capability to view and understand your data could set you apart from your competition – generating more customers and more profits. Are you ready to invest in your data?
