Steering your firm into smart drive

You have probably heard the cliché ‘work smarter, not harder’ too many times. It sounds like a good idea, but many business owners may be unclear about what it actually takes to achieve this balance.

Working smarter essentially means finding a more efficient and effective way to run your business. One way to do that is by realising and unleashing the potential power of the data you have trapped in your own computer systems.

Most businesses have a wealth of data yet do not realise they are sitting on a goldmine. Or, they do know but it is difficult to access the data and get meaningful, actionable information out of it.

Data may not be the most exciting topic for business owners, particularly if you’re involved in the hands-on, day to day running of your firm, but without it, it can be very difficult to gain a true picture of your customers, markets and sales statistics.

Whether you have one database or several, it is possible to put together all the pieces to derive business-enhancing information without changing your internal systems. You can use statistics to develop smarter, data-driven strategies to grow your business and get a much better return on your investment.

The process of extracting actionable knowledge from databases is known as data mining or data analysis. It is a simple way to use the information already stored in your computer system to gain a deeper understanding of your company and how you can best reach your business objectives.

Often, data mining involves the use of other data as well, such as Census or market research information, to enhance the statistics you already have and gain a broader picture of where your company fits in your market.

While market research can help business operators answer burning questions about their customers, the best answers in terms of the direction of your individual company are often waiting to be discovered in your own data.

Data can be used to:

• Keep the customers you want to retain the most
• Find the right type of new customers
• Grow the value of your existing customers
• Better understand and optimise the effectiveness of your marketing, sales, retail and call centre channels
• Identify business improvement opportunities. For example, if you receive a lot of calls relating to confusing invoices, it could bean opportunity to review and change your invoices. This will help remove confusion and decrease calls, which in turn is likely to reduce costs and increase customer and staff satisfaction.

Data mining can be quite simple, depending on what your objectives are. It can help you define and solve business problems, identify quick wins and give you a competitive edge.

The data mining process is not just about numbers and graphs. Instead, data analysts look at what your data is actually telling you in business terms, and what your company can do as a result.

Sometimes, the only barriers to testing assumptions about your business practices and what you could be doing differently are finding the time, knowing how, or being brave enough! If you are willing to delve into the information you already have within your business then your company will reap the benefits.