How Can Data Grow Your Business?

Your data is one of the most powerful business tools that you possess; if you know how to use it. However, your answer is not about structure, tools or cherry-picking, but about asking questions.

There’s a wealth of information available to any business that’s ready to embrace it. Data is probably your most important resource. Using data, you can drive change with positive outcomes and support your business’ growth.

Data analytics can provide you with key insights that help you make the best choices to serve your business and customers. These decisions are then based on determinable outcomes, which also makes it easier to predict growth.

Using real metric also allows you to assess areas that have failed and better understand why. By asking the right questions and analysing the industry and business you are better equipt to see how past patterns or decisions might not serve in your best interests.

There are many tools that you can easily embed on your website. You can automate data collection and analysis, and get sophisticated reports on your dashboard.

For eCommerce businesses, analytics can be the difference between success and failure. This is often the only way that you can see purchasing patterns, understand the effectiveness of campaigns and ultimately grow your business.

So let’s take a closer look at how data serves your business growth.

1. Set realistic goals.

Setting goals for your business is the obvious path to growth. Setting those goals based on realistic and probable outcomes can be achieved using data and by asking the right questions.

With analytics, you’ll be able to assemble data from historic trends and previous activities. You’ll have a clear idea of what goals are achievable. Rather than using aggregated data and industry trends, you can tailor the question to your specific business goals and make predictions that consider your experience, rather than that of your competitor.

2. Improved Fulfillment.

For online businesses, especially those relying on drop shipping, fulfillment can mean the success or demise of the business. Tools that can provide information that shows where and when a majority of orders are placed and the closest fulfillment centres and delivery times can help you improve your service and retain customers.

3. Improved Marketing.

Having a system A/B test your website saves you valuable time and attracts revenue. The data provides an unbiased review of the information, providing simple stats like time on page A/B, return views, engagement and sales success.

Testing tools are very useful for design, marketing and sales teams, who can often face conflict. With data to show the best options your teams can improve productivity and your website can drive sales.

4. Drive Down Costs.

You can see clearly where your money is working hard and where it is lost. While some job roles cost money (writers and designers), others make money (salespeople and accountants). However, you need to understand if you need 4 sales staff or 3, or if your content is really driving traffic and converting to sales or simply providing base-level research with no returns.

5. Mass personalization.

When you’ve segmented your audience with the help of analytics tools, you can create mass personalization. You can set up tools to automatically and effectively personalize email marketing content. You can automate and personalize ad content to target large groups of people and create personalization at the same time. This boosts your business’s reach and impact, driving up conversions.

Personalization is powerful – 74% of marketers agree that targeted personalization drives up customer engagement. By using data to drive your marketing efforts, you can set up relevant experiences across your customer’s purchase journey.

7. Monitor social media.

Analytics tools can also provide in-depth information on what people are saying about your brand online. Tracking your brand mentions and hashtags on social media can help you analyse the effectiveness of ad campaigns and improve your brand awareness. You’ll get data on where your audience is from and what their interests are. These platforms also let you know what devices your audience is using and provide important demographic information. You can use this information to optimize your website and manage content.

If your brand is trending online, you can gather and analyze information that will help you leverage this in the future. With billions of people active on social media, analytics can help you reach out to the right audience. This will help you boost traffic and drive conversions to help your business grow.

8. Boost your memberships.

You can leverage data analytics to boost membership rates on your site. The analytics help you understand the motivations people have for joining your membership program by showing which campaigns have been most effective for sign up, and in what demographics.

Your membership program then tells you more about your audiences, such as their buying and spending habits, their internet habits and other valuable information that can be used to drive sales.

Growth Using Analytics

The questions you ask are as important as the tools you use. Your data cannot provide you with magic answers to grow your business, your questions will provide you with that bullet that takes you from success to growth.

From knowing when you should expand, into what areas and how to reach your target audience, your data is all there waiting to be analysed to give you real insights into how to scale your business successfully.