Data analytics has huge potential to predict and forecast future performance and this is already proven in big companies full of historical data. With the declining cost of computation, the mathematical wizardry of predictive data analytics is already at arm`s length for small and medium enterprises lacking the resources of the big players.
That’s why it is important, to sum up, the benefits everyone might extract from data analytics. Attention – not the features but the benefits.
Understanding customers
Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-mart once said that the customer is capable of firing anyone in his company, including him.
There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else. Sam Walton
So the main focus of every business should be the customer. And data analytics, especially the predictive aspect of it is able to give entrepreneurs crystal clear view to their ideal customer and its understanding. Data analytics is capable of revealing new potential clients or users. It also might point straight to those who are going to stop purchasing goods or services from your businesses. And this is not just valuable insight, it is crucial!
Efficiency booster
There is a room for optimization in every business process. Predictive data analytics is capable of stating which processes can handle tweaks and twists in order to get more efficient and productive for the organization that deploys them.
Torturing data leads to impactful confessions that might be the key to disruptive business models, policies, products, etc.
Modern energy management strongly relies on data analytics in order to extract the optimal pricing levels for energy distribution. This is a process based on supply chain availabilities and if a business needs more energy than previously requested it might come but to extremely high price. Predictive analytics is capable of solving tasks like this.
Making sense of data
Data analytics is the added value of keeping your data neat and structured. Every business has some kind of data, at least a historical records for their sales, customers` behavior, future consumer trends, etc. A keen data analyst is capable of doing extremely meaningful things to empower a particular company to reach its goals. Data is keeping insights within, you just have to unlock them.
Accurate forecasting
Proper business forecasting is the most efficient counteraction to the tyranny of urgent. There are a lot of companies deep under in urgency of any kind. This tyranny is draining the resources that should be dedicated to important things.
Forecasting is addressing not just this very business problem but a lot more. Through the instruments of data analytics, businesses get access to time-saving, accurate and efficient planning. Planning well done means better performed and less expensive execution which naturally leads to enhanced performance.
Increased marketing ROI
Getting more with less is core marketing task. Lowering marketing costs means improved KPI empowering companies to invest more in R&D, people and growth.
Data analytics is a must have approach in the creation of successful marketing campaigns. Not matter if we talk about relevant target audience or creation of enhanced conversion spots, analytics is capable of bringing the desired answers. It is also capable of detecting new marketing channels, disruptive models of client service and effective B2C communication.
Elimination of unknown
By modelling relevant data, predictive analytics is capable of foreseeing the potential success or failure of a future product. Big pharma companies for instance, often relies on algorithms to predict if a molecule might be successfully turned in to a marketable medicine. This way precious R&D resources will be saved at a meaningfully early stage.
This is relative to almost any new products and is not at all a rocket science.
Bonus: Data visualization
Modern interfaces allow data scientists to visualize information nice and clean. This is not an ingenious data analytics benefit but selecting relevant data definitely is. Displaying meaningful information means improved data perception with strengthened impact.
Data visualization is also a matter of art and there are really interesting approaches, some of them already covered by this blog.
