The world’s leading organisations are increasingly adopting a data driven approach for their business. Whether it is the marketing, customer engagement, sales, or product development, data is playing a decisive role in shaping things.

90% of enterprise analytics and business professionals currently say data and analytics are key to their organization’s digital transformation initiatives. Knowledge of how to use data for driving business is becoming a key competitive advantage. Data driven businesses are able to adapt better according to the changing needs, innovate and take the right measures proactively.

Here’s a look at how data driven approach is improving organisations around the world:

1. Business Analysis & Management

Data driven approach helps organisations to measure the right metrics and KPIs. The management of a business can be improved significantly by identifying the metrics with a data driven approach.

Data also augments understanding of the correlation between these metrics. For e.g. the digital and online campaigns may increase offline sales, brand reputation and customer engagement. Data helps management to uncover these aspects and identify the right levers.

Data can be applied to almost all business aspects; however, identifying the most important ones is important. Time remains a scant resource for management executives. Data centric approach helps them take right decisions, mitigate risks and implement better internal controls.

When the business management aspects are data driven, it leads to better strategic planning and internal controls. The budgeting, cost control and operational aspects can be improvised further.

2. Understanding Customers

Forbes survey confirms that 88% of marketers use data obtained by third parties to enhance their understanding of each customer. Data from social media, web platforms, personalised interactions, help desk support and other aggregated sources is used for customer analysis.

The data insights from customers are used for improving the quality of products and services. It is also used to offer them what they need. Data can be used to drive decisions and create customer centric, omni channel and individualised customer experiences.

3. Sales & Customer Acquisition

According to Mckinsey, data driven organizations are not only 23 times more likely to acquire customers, but they’re also six times as likely to retain customers and 19 times more likely to be profitable!

Data is indispensable for sales teams. With the data driven approach, sales teams are able to zone into the right leads, improve closing rates and win more business than ever before. The sales analytics are used for prioritising leads with highest probabilities of closure. Both B2B and B2C businesses are using data insights to improve their sales positioning.

While sales may not instantly rocket with the use of data, it is the customer knowledge that pays rich dividends. When organisations use this knowledge, they can personalise interactions and connect better with customers.

4. Handing Complexity

As businesses grow so does the complexity of managing them. The critical business insights need to be available at the right time for decision makers and teams to make the next move. The unparalleled business changes and technological disruptions make it hard for organisations to relax.

Data helps drive the right insights at the right time. Forrester reports, Insight-driven businesses are growing at an average of 30% each year; by 2021, they are predicted to take $1.8 trillion annually from their less-informed industry competitors.

The operations and processes can be streamlined effectively using data driven approach. Data helps simplify things, reduces operational costs and improves profitability.

5. Experiments & Optimization

Data is significantly used by organisations to experiment, analyze and refine their business strategies. For e.g. retail stores are now using online coupons for specific locations, age groups etc. These experiments are conducted with specific targets and experiments.

Many a times, these experiments fail. However, the useful learnings from these outcomes can be used to plan the next campaign. Ongoing experiments, refinements and continuous improvements make the data driven approach successful in the long run.

The marketing, sales and internal operations of a company can leverage automation software. An integrated platform for strategy, planning and business operations can churn out compelling insights. These insights can drive actions, assist in decision making or add to the organisational knowledge base.

Data insights must be comprehensive that is they must correlate various business aspects to present the holistic picture of things. As a consequence, using these will improve the revenue, profitability and growth for a business.