Big data has been and will continue to be, a great asset to businesses in 2015 and beyond. A savvy businessperson knows that big data is a key component in achieving powerful, long-lasting insights from customers’ experiences, interactions with a brand, as well as with the larger business overall. Of course, the critical component to achieving these valuable insights is an understanding of what questions to ask to get the most useful information and then how best to leverage the data to drive business strategy.
Determining those right questions to ask requires time and continuous evaluation of goals. As the brilliant Albert Einstein once said, “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions.” In that spirit, we should focus on allowing big data to enable organizations to spend those 55 minutes analyzing the key issues to ensure we’re solving the right problems in 2015.
Boost Profit through Big Data Analytics
A comprehensive consulting approach combines firsthand observations throughout the organization with a highly detailed and analytical view of all the critical business data.
Big data can be the impetus for change within an organization because it provides fact-based explanations for what is and is not working.
Collectively, these qualitative and quantitative insights allow for in-depth analyses, which can then be converted into actionable business strategies and remove internal roadblocks to drive strategic change.
Clients occasionally come to us because the organization is fatigued by cutting headcount and not achieving the desired profit levels. By evaluating and analyzing the data – sometimes specifically non-people data analysis – Northridge can help drive increased profitability and growth. A few examples and questions to consider:
- Business Line Profitability – What products or services are driving the most profit? Are there offerings with negative profit margins? Do some of these offerings need to be simplified? Consider a single product or service offering that has healthy margins, but with the addition of incremental services that offering now may grow the company’s top-line revenue but pushes down the margins. Though it seemed to make sense to add and bundle logical complimentary products/services, the business may suffer as a result. By looking deeply at the profit data, a clear case can be made for what direction the company needs to take to get back on the right path.
- Revenue Assurance – Are you billing everyone? Are internal departments communicating effectively? Are there processing mistakes being overlooked? With increasing regulatory changes, company acquisitions and mergers, and new technology being rapidly implemented, it is easy for revenue to slip through the cracks. A critical look at billing and profit margin data may indicate lost opportunities and provide valuable insight into an organization’s performance.
- Innovation – Are you listening to your customer and anticipating their needs? Are you looking for ways to differentiate both in products and in service? Do you use the big data available to connect with your customers and bring new products to market faster than your peers? If not, tremendous opportunities for innovation lie in the data you’re collecting. Consider, for instance, the depth of customer insights that can be gleaned from multiple channels of interactions, and how businesses can gain a wealth of insights for operation, product and service enhancements. Integrated fact-based data can help push forward ideas and bring new solutions to market quicker than ever.
Unmeasured and unmanaged data creates missed opportunities. Untapped data can prove to be a critical component to future growth and innovation, so be sure you are taking a deeper look at one of your strongest resources in today’s market.
Contact us to discuss how best to mine, measure and leverage the data for your business.
