The Importance of Data-Driven Business Planning

Data-Driven Business Planning

With a wide variety of analytics software and other platforms available that make information easily measurable and quantifiable, there’s no shortage of data for today’s businesses. It’s simply a matter of using this information to make sound decisions and devise long-term strategies that put your company in the best position to succeed. If you’re looking to improve your business’s bottom line, data-driven planning can help in several different ways.

 

The Current State of Business Intelligence Analytics

First of all, you should understand the value of business intelligence and just how big of an impact it can have for modern companies. An infographic on the Better Buys website highlights a few key statistics that put things into perspective:

  • Companies using analytics are five times more likely to make faster decisions.
  • The business intelligence and analytics market will grow to $20 billion by 2019.
  • 85 percent of business leaders believe big data will dramatically change the way they do business.

This goes to show just how far analytics have come and what the future forecast looks like. Countless businesses already use analytics in some capacity, and this trend is going to continue for the foreseeable future.

 

Enhanced Decision Making

Perhaps the biggest benefit of data-driven planning is how it can help you make smart decisions in a timely manner. Rather than relying merely on a hunch or making inferences that are purely speculative, you can base your decisions on concrete data. Whether it’s fine-tuning your marketing techniques, determining the best price point for a product/service or deciding how much inventory to have on hand, you’re far more likely to make the right decisions with data-driven planning.

 

Better Consumer Experience

A big part of ensuring a positive consumer experience is first understanding what consumers want, what they don’t want and their overall psychology. Analytics play an integral role in gaining an understanding because the reports generated help you connect the dots and paint a clear picture of the wants and needs of your customer base.

For instance, analytics can help you decide which products/services to upsell, which promotional offers to send out and which inventory to stock so demand can consistently be met. While this is advantageous in several ways, it means one important thing — you can retain a higher percentage of your customers.

 

Increased Profitability

At the end of the day, what is almost every business looking for? Maximum profit margins.

Data-driven planning helps achieve this because it optimizes performance in multiple areas of operations and allows you to create hyper-efficient strategies that increase leads, optimize pricing, boost sales conversions, retain more customers and establish the best possible business infrastructure.

In terms of a specific ROI, a case study on the Ironside Group’s website found that “Organizations earn an average of $10.66 for every dollar spent on deployment of analytics applications such as business intelligence, performance management and predictive analytics.” This is an outstanding ROI and shows just how much of an impact data can have.

 

For your company to thrive in our modern business climate, it’s essential to capitalize on available technology. By using metrics to your advantage and developing plans based on data-driven information, you can minimize any inefficiencies and put your company in the best position to succeed.

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