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Companies are looking for data analytics to help them make better decisions, and those that aren’t are lagging behind.
You’ve seen the recent titles of some of the world’s biggest losing brands: Peloton, Netflix and Zoom, to name a few. Last year, they were all favorite consumers, but now they are not seemingly in contact with the same audience.
None of them managed to meet the expectations set for the adoption of consumers, and their share prices have been falling since then. Data can be a preventive and prescriptive tool to monitor consumer demands and help meet their development expectations.
If you want to revolutionize your business, you need to become a data-driven business. This means embedding data in every aspect of your business, from marketing through product development to customer service.
To be successful in today’s business environment and tomorrow’s digital world, organizations need to treat data with respect. Leading companies use data to make information-based decisions, and 91% of companies say decision-making is based on data essential to their business.
But what does it take to become a data-driven business? Here are some tips to get you started.
Design a data-based culture
Businesses need to nurture a data-driven culture. But what does that culture look like? A data-driven culture is one in which data is part of decision-making, not subsequent thought. Guessing where the strengths and weaknesses are across the organization has been replaced by factual information provided by the data.
Data is at the heart of a strategy when companies have a data-driven culture, from streamlining business to pricing.
How can companies design a data-driven culture? Here are some ways to keep in mind:
- Educate teams (especially C-Suite) about the importance of how data can be used and the insights it provides.
- Show how data solves critical problems across the organization.
- Use data to make teams more efficient and track improvements.
Businesses will have to be patient. Creating a culture based on data does not happen overnight. There should be tools, processes, and a genuine desire to learn (since data is just information) to support this cultural evolution.
It will be necessary to invest in data collection and tools to obtain information before the new culture comes to life. Then there should be an equal investment of time to ensure that teams are trained to use it.
Related: How to use real-time data to fine-tune your business decisions
Develop a data-driven marketing strategy
Data-driven marketing is key to revenue growth. Implementing a data-driven marketing plan can help businesses turn customer insight into action and increase profits.
How can companies develop a data-driven marketing strategy? Here are a few steps used by leading teams:
- Identify where your target audience is - offline and online - and their preferences for viewing, engaging, and converting.
- Discover and segment your audience to differentiate between customers, prospects, and shoppers.
- Create content based on audience interest and clicks to build trust and increase sales.
Businesses that rely on data-driven marketing can make informed decisions, leading to better results.
Instead of relying on intuition, data-driven marketing relies on real-world evidence. Data can help businesses track what works and what doesn’t, making it easier to optimize their campaigns and marketing strategies.
Related: 8 Ways Data Analytics Can Revolutionize Your Business
Create a data-driven user experience
To create a data-driven user experience, companies must first understand what data they need to collect about their customers and how companies can use the data to improve customer interaction.
Basic rule: Do not collect data that you cannot use.
How can companies create a data-driven user experience? Here are some common ways in which data is applied:
- Providing product recommendations and real-time advice to customers during their purchase.
- Eliminate spent spend on ads by not showing ads for products that customers have already purchased or are not interested in.
- Personalize engagement from the entry point to improve their experience and increase the likelihood of conversion.
Data is available to answer questions, so businesses should not be cluttered with information they don’t need. For example, if a company wants to design a better user experience at the individual level, identify which questions about individuals need to be answered to provide those experiences instead of just learning all about them.
By understanding data and using it to improve the user experience, companies can create a competitive advantage for themselves. A better user experience can result in greater customer satisfaction and loyalty and increased sales and profits.
Related: Here are the benefits of data-driven decision making
Create data-based products
Companies that listen to what the data tells them can create the products that the market wants.
The data will reveal which products customers are most interested in, and companies can use these insights to package products and make recommendations that increase sales.
Here are some keys to an effective strategy for building the right data-based products:
- Listen to market interests, trends, patterns, and behaviors to find out what topics are of interest.
- Track which channels and devices your audience uses to search, browse, and convert because they change frequently and will need optimization.
- Democratize data across the organization so that teams have the data they need and can make information-based decisions.
Data can guide the product roadmap. Creating data-based products requires companies to have a good understanding of their data as a prerequisite. In addition, they need the ability to efficiently collect, clean, link and analyze data.
To become a data-driven enterprise requires a commitment to data use. It is not enough that to collect data - companies must use them to improve the experience throughout the organization. This commitment can be difficult, but it is necessary if companies want to stay competitive.