Being the owner or director of a business is no small feat. You are literally responsible for everything that has anything whatsoever to do with the company you run. Although you are working toward one main goal, and that would be making a profit, nothing happens that doesn’t impact your bottom line in one way or another. It is your responsibility to be continually on top of numbers. This is where data analytics is an integral part of business operations and the reason why it behooves you to have at least one person on staff who is proficient in Big Data as it relates to your company. While you are continually on your toes analyzing everything that comes across your desk on a daily basis, there are at least four main ways in which data analytics can benefit your business.Let’s take a brief look at each of these benefits now.
1. Understanding and Improving the Customer Experience
Can you think of a business that doesn’t rely on its customers? They are vital to your survival and growth, so this is one of the most important aspects of running a business in terms of profitability. What does data analytics have to do with this? Actually, it all begins with gathering data from a number of different sources. Whether you do an exit poll, an online survey or simply follow the numbers in your business, this is the data you will work from to begin improving the customer experience where necessary.
Someone with an online Masters in Data Science from a highly ranked graduate school like Baylor University would not only analyze your company’s physical and/or online sales but will also use that data to identify customer pain points. In understanding customer behavior as it relates to your industry and your business in particular, you will be better able to make improvements where necessary. Remember, the customer experience is the lifeblood of your company. Without sales, you couldn’t exist.
2. Improve Operational Efficiency
One example of streamlining operational efficiency to improve your bottom line is in the area of the supply chain. This is something all businesses around the globe have had to grapple with over the past few years of the pandemic. While getting or making timely deliveries has always been somewhat of a concern, the enormity of potential loss was never made clearer than what the coronavirus forced us to face. Just one break in the supply chain can have a domino effect on businesses at every level of production and sales.
Being able to mine and analyze data on breaks in the supply chain, you will be better able to find ‘fixes’ in the event that something like this should occur in the future. For example, if the shipping company you work with has had major issues, you could capture data from shipping competitors that experienced few problems when many shippers were bottlenecked. From analyzing data in any department, you can make improvements that will almost immediately be reflected in a stronger profit margin.
3. Assessing and Mitigating Risks
This is something that insurance actuaries do on a daily basis. It is their job to mine and evaluate data on anything that poses a risk to the underwriter and why policies are priced as they are. High risk equates to high payouts and that will be reflected in insurance premiums. In fact, some risks are so great that you would be hard pressed to find an insurance company with that particular coverage.
The same thing holds true for your company. Some of the greatest risks you will face come in the form of:
- Theft by employees or customers
- Liability – personal and property
- Unpaid receivables
- Employee and customer retention
And those are just a few of the greatest risks businesses face continually. Data analytics can help you determine whereyour company’s greatest risks reside so that you can build strategies to mitigate levels of risk you may be faced with.Bear in mind that with every loss you will pay the price, so doesn’t it make sense to use data analysis to identify and mitigate risks and eventual losses?
4. Improvements in Decision-Making Processes
Take a moment to think about the sheer number of decisions you are required to make on a daily basis. It never fails that even something as mundane as the number of paperclips your secretary should order is laid at your feet and by the time the day is over, you have an Excedrin headache of the highest degree. Although it may sound silly at this point, think about those paperclips for just a moment. Has anyone ever calculated how many you have used in the past and what the cost is when ordering them?
Do you get a lower price when ordering in bulk and how much time is wasted in ordering them more often than necessary? While that is a seemingly trivial subject, apply that to literally every purchase made by your business and you will see how data analytics can streamline the ordering process and reduce the number of decisions you are asked to make. Now move on to every other operation within your business so that if you can analyze data to improve the decision-making process in your company, that should equate to a much higher profitability.
Your Key Takeaway
In the end, you will see just how important the field of data analytics is to your business and why it is vital that you rely on data science for business survival and growth. If there is no one within your company that has a strong background in data science, now is the time to address the situation. You can either hire someone at an added cost of recruitment and payroll or name a qualified employee to advance their BS to a master’s in data science paid by the company. This is one area you can’t neglect, and as such, is an investment in your company’s future. Can you afford not to pay the price?