What we have come to realize is that many business owners have the wish to scale their business and grow profits. So, in trying to achieve this goal, they focus on the obvious things such as, tasking their workers more, strategizing on breaking into new market segments or geographical locations and so on. However, there are some simple, not so obvious things, when taken into consideration can make a massive impact on your business especially as an SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) owner.
One of those simple things you will find extremely useful is Data. Data wields so much power that it can foretell your business growth-path and help you make better informed decisions. So today, we will be discussing, “How to make your SME Business grow using Data”.
Based on accepted studies, data science is the process of gathering, organizing and analysing data to pull out useful information that can be ploughed back to your business for impact. Here are a few areas in which data can help put your business in the right trajectory:
- Understanding your customer better: As a business owner, understanding your customer is one of the most fundamental areas of your business. For example, if you are a fabric seller, you need to know what kind of occasions and functions your customers attend, the peak period in terms of demand for fabrics etc. This will help you figure out which of your fabrics to promote more and at what period. Data therefore helps you understand the needs and desire of your customers
- Redefining your customer journey and experience: A customer journey is the path your customers go through from the point of consideration to buy your product to the point of actual purchase. If the data collected shows that more of your customers are more tech-inclined, it means you must make sure your business has a digital platform where they can interact with your business. You will also need to scrutinize the platform to ensure that it gives the best customer experience, else you will begin to lose customers. For instance, if it takes long to load your business page online, then be sure that the customer satisfaction rating will be affected.
- Developing better Marketing strategies: Data can give you insights into how successful your marketing campaigns have been. Marketing is a lot different than it once was. It’s now more personalized and spans multiple platforms, from your website to your social media channels. Data allows you to refine your marketing strategies, so you improve conversions and sales. For instance, you can look at data like open, click-through, and conversion rates for ideas on how to improve your campaign, as well as to analyze your results.
- Gaining Competitive Edge: If you are running your business in a very competitive space, then think data! data!! Data!!! Data can help to ensure that you still are relevant within your space and also help build a competitive edge. Data unveils details such as who your competition is targeting, who they are not, and how to outsmart them. The more you can understand your competition, the better your market domination strategies can become.
- Waste Identification: Data analysis can help you figure out where you have been wasteful as a business and point out where you need to be cut back on resources. For instance, if data reveals that bulk of your customers are prefer e-tickets and receipts, then there would not be a need to commit so many resources to printing these documents for your customers.
That said, the importance of data cannot be overemphasized. Every business owner must develop a culture of data analysis. You should also consider taking up a Business Insurance Plan, to protect your business from unforeseen risks.
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