08/09/2022

How to Grow Your Business With the Power of Data Analytics

Data analytics has the power to drive incredible business growth

Data analytics has the power to drive incredible business growth. Today’s big brands know this, but many small businesses are overlooking the value that data can bring to business decisions. By analyzing the data and information that your business generates every day, you can gain deep insight into how things are performing so you have a better idea of what’s working and what isn’t.

Here’s a quick article from the Ohio Society of Association Professionals (OSAP) to help you leverage the power of data analytics to grow your business! 

Use Data to Improve Customer Retention 

Among the top must-have small business technologies, most modern tools use data to automate and streamline various business operations. Customer relationship management (CRM) software is one such tool that has the power to transform how you store and use customer data. CRM software will enable you to manage your business relationships and organize all of your customer information in one place. You’ll be able to segment your customers based on shopping behaviors, email engagement, demographics and more. As a result, you’ll be able to personalize your promotions and customer service interactions to provide an experience your customers can’t get anywhere else. 

Analyze Business Processes and Stop Wasting Time 

Eliminating time-wasters is essential for growing your business. This is another area where data analytics can help you achieve your business goals. If your team is spending a lot of time on daily tasks like lead generation, customer service, creating quotes, follow-ups, invoicing, collecting payments and posting on social media, you’re not alone. These are some of the most time-consuming business tasks. 

By analyzing these existing workflows with business process management (BPM), you can use data to identify inefficiencies and highlight opportunities for optimization. You’ll discover time-consuming tasks that can be automated or outsourced to free up time and give your team more space to focus on growth-related activities. Create a BPM framework that involves regular process monitoring so you can make continuous workflow improvements.  

Boost Your Brand Alignment 

How well does your brand align with your target customers? Data analytics can help you answer this question. Content Callout describes brand alignment as a measure of how well a brand fulfills the promise it makes to its customers. Good brand alignment ensures your customers know what to expect from your business and feel connected to your brand. Analyze data on your target customers to discover what they want and how they make decisions, then use this information to inform your branding decisions.   

Once you know how to better align your brand with consumer interests, consider doing some rebranding. Start by creating a new logo. You can use online logo design tools to create a sleek and attractive logo that speaks to your branding and helps customers relate to your brand. Free design tools make it easy to create custom logos without advanced design skills or expensive graphic design software. 

Improve Risk Management 

Businesses frequently face risks that can hurt their progress. While some of these risks may be hard to avoid, like sales slumps and supply chain issues, monitoring and identifying threats in advance can help you fortify your business and reduce their negative effects. For example, Selerity recommends studying historic data to find cash flow patterns and causes behind customer churn. This kind of information is invaluable for predicting potential business threats so you can make data-driven business decisions that prevent major disruptions.  

Data analytics can bring countless benefits to your business. The best part? Your business already has access to all the data you need to make impactful business decisions. You just need to know how to use it! Leverage data analytics to improve customer retention, choose effective digital tools, eliminate time-wasting business processes, improve your brand alignment and predict risks. Businesses that make the most of their data will thrive in the face of any challenges that come their way. 

Are you an Ohio resident seeking professional development in association management? Join the OSAP to access specialized learning experiences and forge valuable lifelong business relationships! This article was crafted for OSAP by Dean Burgess. If you'd like to reach out to him, please email him.