How To Grow Your Business Using Big Data And Analytics
Data, particularly big data is a big thing in business circles. It will help your business make smarter decisions based off solid evidence. What data is relevant to your business Choosing a source and type of data to use can be overwhelming for many business owners. The first thing is to work out what insights your business needs and asking the right questions. Do you want to improve your customer service or get feedback on a new product? Do you have a clear understanding of how your customer interacts on your website? The next step is to decide how you want to collect this data. Where will you source your data from? You may not think your small business generates much data but you would be surprised! Have a think about your business activities, common places to source your data are in-store sales figures, your social media platforms, newsletter subscriptions and traffic to your website. These figures will give you a benchmark and put you in a position to do something with the results. This is when we bring in the analytics software and tools to assist you with interpreting your customers’ decisions and movements. Big data tools If your customers are interacting with your product or service via your website you want to understand their movements. Google Analytics is a free tool that will give you data on a range of things from website performance to user behaviors. CRM tools are a great way to track, generate and manage your incoming leads effectively. Majority of social media platforms have inbuilt data analytics capabilities so you can easily track how your social media activities are performing. You will also need a safe place to store this data. Dedicated cloud and hosting services will not only store it securely, but they can also analyze multiple data sources simultaneously. Usually, this is done via a customisable dashboard using simple graphs and charts. This could help you determine the pricing of your inventory, identify new customers and even pinpoint what content your audience takes notice of. The insights you get from big data can help you make smarter decisions that will ultimately grow your small business.
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What Is The Real Cost Of An Ineffective IT System?
Here in Australia, IT issues cost business roughly $3,456 every year for each employee. So if you are a small business with 10 employees, that’s $34,560 annually in lost productivity. Servers that randomly disconnect; software updates that take your computer hostage and demand money for its release; files that cant open on the out of date XP OS you’re using… Its time to upgrade your IT system. Ineffective IT Systems create stress for your employees who become frustrated with fighting against the computer to complete their work. Managing the systems that run your business is a big (and time-consuming task) and it only gets more involved as your business grows. HERE ARE 10 SIGNS YOU NEED TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR CURRENT IT: YOUR SYSTEMS AREN’T IN LINE WITH THE BUSINESS NEEDS. Constantly trying out new technologies is not always the best plan of attack. If what you are currently using works, then stick with it. Provided it’s flexible enough to adapt to your growing needs, there is no cause for concern. If you are worried about the current technology or technologies you are using are preventing you from growing your business, then it’s time to change your strategy. COMPLAINTS FROM CLIENTS. Receiving multiple complaints is something you can’t ignore. It could be because your data is not being handled correctly, is not being forwarded onto the right departments or your reporting systems aren’t efficient. Or, the technologies that run your business are no longer supporting the demands of your customers. Either way, these problems can be prevented if you invest in the right technology and have the right systems in place to handle the demands. YOU ARE UP AGAINST UNEXPECTED IT EXPENSES. Inadequate IT planning results in poor understanding of your businesses requirements which results in wrong tech investments and lack of foresight and forward planning. Although unplanned IT-related expenses are not totally avoidable, they can be considerably minimised if IT costs are accurately estimated and effectively managed. For this, you need the high-level knowledge of IT experts. DATA IS LOST. 99% of data loss is directly related to the way you save, share, and handle your data. Do you have a system that encrypts your data before it is sent to a backup storage? Do you have adequate spam, anti-virus, and malware protection? Are you controlling user access to data? If you are losing data, chances are you don’t have correct safety measures in place, or they are failing. SLOW IT SUPPORT. Your IT staff need to be fast and responsive in attending to your IT issues to avoid problems falling through the cracks. LOSS OF PRODUCTIVITY. Poor productivity in the workplace is often a result of poor/slow computer systems, it could be your slow Internet connectivity, applications constantly crashing, outdated systems or a combination of IT-related issues that chew up employees time and ultimately cost YOU money. If these issues remain unresolved, it can affect your business growth and you may lose your high-performers. THERE’S NO PLAN IN PLACE FOR GROWTH. Your IT supports your business goals and your growth. If your IT strategy is not adequate or not aligned with your goals, you are just wasting your money. THERE’S NO SAFETY NET, DISASTER RECOVERY OR BACKUP STRATEGY SHOULD DISASTER STRIKE. Do not underestimate the need for every business to prepare for worst-case scenarios. Being a small business is no excuse not to have a plan in place as anyone, anywhere could be a target. Your disaster recovery plan should be created and implemented by experts with a thorough understanding of your business operations – consider all the possible aspects that could go wrong and identify all the viable solutions to the problems being considered. YOUR IT TEAM ISN’T IN TOUCH WITH THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY AND SYSTEMS. Hiring an IT team is only one element. Unless you are on top of training with key vendors and have a system to keep track of new innovations and how to use them, you could be missing important developments that could improve your business. Similarly, you may also not be aware of new security threats and bugs and how they can be prevented from impacting your business. YOU ARE ALWAYS BRINGING IN IT SUPPORT FOR ISSUES THAT COULD BE PREVENTED WITH MANAGED IT. Your IT support might be mostly centered on ad hoc issue resolution, instead of preventive maintenance. So, by the time a problem blows up, you have no other choice but to get outside help to fix the problem. This can be a costly exercise and a mean a blowout for your budget.
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