Organizations increasingly recognize the immense value of interpreting business analytics. By deriving insights from such data, businesses can make informed decisions and drive sustainable growth. However, to unlock the full potential of business analytics, it’s important to follow best practices that ensure effective and meaningful analysis. Below, we’ll discuss some business analytics best practices that will empower you to leverage data as a strategic asset and achieve actionable results.
Unraveling the Challenges: Navigating the Obstacles in Business Analytics
By identifying and analyzing the common obstacles to using business analytics, organizations gain insight into the root causes and intricacies of the problems they face. Understanding these obstacles can also help you set realistic expectations, allocate appropriate resources, and mitigate potential risks or setbacks.
7 Common Business Analytics Challenges |
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Results |
1. We’re not seeing business results from the time and money we’ve already invested in analytics. | |
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Strategy |
2. There’s no enterprise-wide analytics strategy; our initiatives feel disconnected from business goals. | |
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Quality |
3. Our data quality is poor, which results in inaccurate analysis, underperforming actions, and mistrust. | |
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Governance |
4. We have siloed data everywhere, and my team wastes time consolidating it instead of spending time on analysis and action. | |
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Automation |
5. Our reports and dashboards need more automation or business value. | |
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Utilization |
6. AI and ML are aspirational but could be used now for upsell, cross-sell, and predictive modeling. | |
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Testing |
7. We need a more robust testing culture that drives conversion optimization, cost reduction, and CX improvements. | |
Best Practices: Quick Fixes and Lengthy Solutions
Honed by experience and industry expertise, business analytics best practices provide a useful framework for structured data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Adopting these best practices allows companies to develop a deeper understanding of their pain points by leveraging data-driven insights to drive sustainable growth and long-term success.
Implementing quick fixes and lengthy solutions for business analytics is crucial to ensuring a holistic and sustainable approach to problem-solving. In this article, we define ‘quick fixes’ as solutions that take a short amount of time to be implemented and ‘lengthy solutions’ are those that need a bit more time to implement. The quick fixes and lengthy solutions in these articles range from permanent provisions to short-term patches, but neither is exclusive to the type of problem.
Best practices in business analytics can help organizations develop targeted, practical strategies to address the issues identified by such analyses
Incorporate These Best Practices Right Now: Quick Fixes
Quick fixes address immediate pain points, providing speedy relief and tangible results. By addressing pressing issues promptly, quick fixes can alleviate bottlenecks, improve efficiency, and mitigate risk, allowing businesses to maintain operations and deliver value in the short term.
In addition, quick fixes offer an opportunity to gather valuable insights and feedback that can inform long-term strategies and drive continuous improvement. They serve as stepping stones toward long-term success, enabling organizations to make informed decisions while setting the stage for more robust, sustainable analytical practices.
1. Identify/ Re-evaluate Goals and Objectives
When using business analytics, identifying or re-evaluating goals and objectives—depending on your stage in the business analytics optimization process—is vital for maximizing the value and efficacy of data-driven insights. By clearly defining goals and objectives, organizations can establish the purpose and desired outcomes for analytics initiatives. This clarity ensures that analysis efforts are focused and aligned with the trajectory of the overall business strategy. Organizations can also decide periodically whether business analytics are still relevant, realistic, and aligned with the organization's evolving needs.
Helpful Note: Questions To Evaluate/ Re-evaluate Goals and Objectives
- What key performance indicators (KPIs) are most critical to the success of our organization, and how can business analytics help measure and improve them?
- Are there any emerging opportunities or potential risks that we should consider when re-evaluating our goals and objectives?
- Are our goals and objectives specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART)?
2. Incorporate Data Storytelling
Data storytelling uses narrative techniques to engage and inform the audience in conveying complex data and insights compellingly and understandably. Using visuals and stories to transform raw data into meaningful narratives allows organizations to drive informed decision-making, effectively communicate insights, and enhance organizational transparency, accountability, and compliance. This, in turn, encourages data governance and decreases data silos by making complex information more memorable and easier to retain.
Helpful Note: How To Encourage Data Storytelling
- Send company-wide emails containing short training videos with ‘quick tips’ to enhance data literacy and storytelling skills, enabling employees to analyze data effectively, identify critical insights, and craft engaging narratives.
- Purchase and provide employees with user-friendly data visualization tools that facilitate the creation of visually appealing and interactive data representations, making it easier for employees to communicate data-driven stories.
- Identify individuals or teams who excel in data storytelling and leverage their expertise to mentor and inspire others.
3. Consult Specialty Tech Firms
Reaching out to specialty tech consultants when faced with business analytics problems can be an intelligent move that expedites solutions. Such consultants possess specialized knowledge and expertise in various data analysis techniques, technologies, and best practices. Their experience working across diverse industries and organizations equips them with a deep understanding of common analytics challenges and practical problem-solving strategies.
Helpful Note: Who Should I Reach Out To?
- Look for specialty tech consulting firms that have
- Relevant Expertise
- Expert Communication and Collaboration Skills
- Technical Proficiency
- Successful Track Records
Best Practices That Take Time to Implement: Lengthy Solutions
Lengthy solutions and best practices establish a foundation for continuous improvement, driving lasting positive impact and maximizing the value of business analytics efforts. Although lengthy solutions may take more resources, they allow organizations to move beyond quick fixes and establish a sustainable foundation for data-driven decision-making. Businesses can address complex challenges proactively and comprehensively by investing adequate time and resources to develop lengthy solutions.
1. Establish Data Quality and Governance
Data quality and governance are closely related, as effective data governance practices are instrumental in maintaining and improving data quality. Data governance provides the structure and framework for establishing data quality standards, enforcing data quality rules, and implementing improvement initiatives. It ensures that data is adequately documented, validated, and monitored while addressing data cleansing, integration, and lineage issues. By implementing robust data quality and governance practices, organizations can enhance trust in their data, ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and industry standards, and streamline data processes while reducing redundancy.
Helpful Note: What Technology Will Help With Data Quality and Governance?
- Snowflake
- Snowflake’s Cloud Data Platform equips organizations with a single, integrated platform that offers the only data warehouse built for any cloud to derive business insights and analytics.
- Microsoft Data Quality Services (DQS)
- Microsoft’s DQS helps customers build a knowledge base with improved business intelligence performance. DQS enables clients to perform critical data quality tasks, including correction, enrichment, standardization, and de-duplication.
2. Incorporate Predictive Modeling
Predictive modeling is a process in data analytics that uses historical data and statistical techniques to create models that make predictions or forecasts about future events or outcomes. Predictive modeling is a business analytics best practice because it helps organizations anticipate future trends, increase operational efficiency, personalize the customer experience, and enhance risk management processes.
Helpful Note: What Technology Will Help With Predictive Modeling?
- Salesforce
- Salesforce helps organizations optimize predictive modeling by providing a comprehensive platform integrating data, analytics, and machine learning capabilities. It enables businesses to leverage customer data and generate accurate predictions for improved decision-making and enhanced customer experiences.
- IriusRisk
- IriusRisk helps organizations with predictive modeling by providing a risk-based threat modeling platform that enables proactive identification and mitigation of potential security vulnerabilities and threats in software applications.
3. Automate Tasks To Increase Productivity
Automation is beneficial to business analytics because it enhances the reliability and accuracy of analytics, ensuring consistent, standardized data. Automation can streamline data processing, reduce manual efforts, and enable real-time analysis to accelerate decision-making, improve accuracy, and uncover valuable insights more efficiently.
Helpful Note: What Technology Will Help With Automation?
- MuleSoft
- MuleSoft can help organizations with automation services by providing a powerful integration platform that connects disparate systems and applications, enabling seamless data flow, process automation, and efficient orchestration of business operations.
Incorporate Business Analytics Best Practices With Concord
Business analytics best practices lay the foundation for effective data governance, accurate forecasting, improved operational efficiency, enhanced customer experiences, and overall organizational success. Embracing these practices is a strategic habit that can propel businesses toward growth, agility, and sustainable success.
If you want to optimize your business analytics with best practices (quick fixes and lengthy solutions), reach out to a specialty tech consulting firm to ensure the success of your operations.
Getting Started
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Contact us today to learn more about business analytics best practices, our Technology Integration Services, and how we can help your business thrive.