Building Business Resilience Using Data You Already Have
Data driven decision makes it possible for organizations of any size to manage risk, adapt to changes in the landscape, and proactively identify the growth trajectory for a business. As critical as data driven decisions are, they require you to use sound data practices and strategies to reveal the actionable insights from available information.
To help you get started with data-driven decision making, we’ll discuss three top strategies to exploit the data you’re already collecting — no need to implement new tools or technologies.
Benefits of Data-Driven Decision Making
While guts, emotions, and intuition do have their place in business, a McKinsey study found that data-driven organizations are 23 times more likely to outshine their competitors in customer acquisition, nine times more likely to outperform them in terms of customer loyalty, and 19 times more likely to improve profitability as a result.
Beyond the customer satisfaction benefits, data-driven decision making enhances operational efficiency and creates a competitive advantage for your business.
If you’re struggling to make the most of available data, you’re not alone. Here are some strategies to help you gather game-changing insights to inspire positive business outcomes.
3 Strategies for Using Data You Already Have
Bring Dark Data to Light
Dark data is the vast amount of unstructured data that your organization collects during regular business operations, but it's rarely used. According to Deloitte, dark data constitutes up to 90% of all the data an organization collects. This could be data that’s hiding in:
Downloaded email attachments or zip files
Old document versions
Log files, transaction history, and account information
Inactive databases or unused customer information
Survey data and analytics reports
Dark data sounds ominous, there’s nothing “dark” about dark it — it’s simply untapped, unstructured, or disconnected data that hasn’t been processed, for instance, emails, text messages, web based product reviews, or video files. The hidden value might provide nuanced customer, operational, and business insights that you’re not getting from your structured data assets.
For example, if you manage a large call center, dark analytics might make use of audio recordings of customers, gathering data and drawing conclusions based on their tone of voice and use of language. This can be a powerful tool for understanding customer behavior, attitudes toward your brand, and more.
Unearthing insights from dark data hasn’t always been easy, however a thorough discovery process, including comprehensive stakeholder interviews will identify these sources. Casting a wide net in this way allows organizations to bring to light and mine previously unused sources of data for actionable insights.
Aggregate Data into One Place
Sometimes it’s tough to get your business aligned on which data sets are the right ones to use. A consultant tells the client story of how one data set showed a client was on-target to hit their financial goals — but when they analyzed actual financial performance across departments, the numbers showed they were falling behind.
The root cause was the client’s lack of a single source of truth. They used different data sets to analyze the same business outcome; they were double-counting values. Multiple teams were claiming results from the same campaigns, which made it look like financial goals were on-target, when they were actually falling behind.
Aggregating data to create a central single source of truth can help unlock the potential of business information. It enhances analytics, improves reporting accuracy, and reduces the risk of making uninformed decisions.
Beyond aggregating data and measuring it in one place, it’s also wise to connect complementary data, too. For example, if you collect both customer and employee feedback, you can connect the two to tap into valuable opportunities to build authentic relationships. A Questback survey revealed that 83% of businesses who connect customer and employee feedback achieve a better customer experience.
Democratize Basic Data
Aggregating the data your organization collects is an incredible start. But if only a few people can access this information it is far less powerful than if it were accessible to everyone who needed it to make decisions.
For a data-driven culture to flourish, it’s imperative to democratize information by distributing data across departments and teams. Set clear permissions and access levels to limit who has access to what and when. Utilize dashboarding to help people, both technical and non-technical, get the information they need at-a-glance without having to request reports from analysts in different departments every week or month.
Your Data Is Waiting for You
According to a 2020 Gartner report 76% of marketers claimed that the majority of their decisions were data-driven. Data-driven decisions are here to stay, now it’s just a matter of gaining an edge on your competitors by taking the first step. If you’re struggling to get started or create a business intelligence strategy, we’ve got you covered.
At Prime 8 Consulting, we strive to help our clients get the most out of data. We’ll help you implement robust tools that target and use the right data to take the guesswork out of the equation. Contact us with any questions you have or for a free consultation.
