Today, few assets can be considered as vital to the success of a business as data. Effective gathering, management, and analysis of customer and industry data can give your business a major edge over the competition. According to The CMO Survey, 44% of companies make their marketing decisions based on consumer data.

The same study predicted that spending on marketing analytics would increase by 66% between 2016 and 2019. Businesses are quickly recognizing that data can make a significant contribution to their growth. But why is this so? And what can data do for your business? Read on to find out why you should care about data analysis.

Customer Experience

If you know your customers, their preferences, and their interests, you can provide a superior experience. A Temkin Group study found that businesses earning over $1 billion annually earn an additional $700 million within three years of investing in customer experience. For your small or medium-sized business, it’s no different.

Unlike in the past when the product or service ensured loyalty among buyers, customer experience is now the leading factor. Personalized product recommendations and discounts, improved customer service, and streamlined checkout processes are some of the customer experience improvements you can make through data analysis.

Decision Making

The more informed your decisions are, the more likely they’ll result in an outcome you desire. Being informed prevents you from playing guessing games and increases the return on investment of your decisions. For example, examining data about the most reliable vans can help a tradesman put his money towards the best possible vehicle for their business.

Marketing

According to Invesp, acquiring new customers costs five times more than retaining existing ones. Knowing who your customers are and where to find them is the most effective way to keep them happy and ensure that they come back for more. This is another situation where using data analysis to learn more about your customers pays off greatly.

Daily Operations

Data analysis can help any business operate more efficiently. Fleet managers can use tracking data to identify more efficient routes for their drivers. Manufacturers can analyze the layout of their warehouse to streamline their inventory management. Online stores can use data to detect and prevent fraud.

Offices can improve employee productivity by analyzing their work habits. The potential here is truly limitless. And thanks to recent innovations in machine learning, many processes can be improved and automated without the need for human interaction.

Using Data Analysis in Your Business

So, data analysis is clearly important. But how do you use it in your business? The most effective solution is to have an in-house expert. Thanks to e-learning opportunities such as this online certificate in data science, that expert can even be you or a current employee. This will equip you with the knowledge and skills required to perform data analysis.

Conclusion

Once you or your employees are primed on the fundamentals of data analysis, you can start crunching numbers and finding insights. Be sure to start as soon as possible. Your competitors are probably drawing up graphs as we type.