Using the business-related data that you have to gain insights on performance, customer behaviour, back office processes, and on which to base future decisions and strategy, is something that can be of huge value to organisations and companies of all sizes.
Ensuring that you have good, reliable business data in the first place is half the battle. However, it’s the insights that you can gain from analysis of this data that brings the real benefit to the business. Knowing where to start with this can be a challenge, especially if you’re dealing with a large volume of data across many different areas of the business.
In this article, we look at three ways to unlock useful and actionable insights from business data.
1. Apply appropriate context to the data
When faced with large quantities of data, applying context to it will help ensure that you only spend time and resource on the data that makes a difference to your business. The context will relate to your business goals and objectives and helps to tailor your analysis.
Applying context can help you decide on certain date ranges of data to look at to answer specific questions you have, identify any specialised data points that you may not otherwise have thought of and minimise wasted time and resource spent on data that isn’t relevant for your current purposes.
2. Take a balanced view of all major data points
Focusing heavily on a single area of data can mean that you miss important insights in other areas, so taking a balanced approach initially can help ensure this doesn’t happen. Once you have applied some context in the first stage, getting a broad overview is often valuable. You can always dig further into specific sections of your data once insights start to appear or to answer questions you have in relation to performance, seasonality or trends.
3. Effective visualisation of data
Not only is data visualisation an incredible tool for communicating and reporting on data insights, it can also help you to discover them in the first place. Seeing a graphical representation of some of your numbers, for example, can help you to identify trends, seasonal fluctuations or unexpected peaks and troughs in performance, as well as patterns in customer behaviour or sales information that you simply won’t spot by looking at spreadsheets or many kinds of summaries.
At Avocado Analyze, we are true specialists in business data and can help ensure that you’re making the most of yours at every stage. From effective collection of accurate and relevant information, to a comprehensive analysis of the data sections that matter for your requirements and data visualisation solutions that work for you, our team can make a tangible difference to your business and strategy in the future.
Get in touch with us to find out more.