Data-driven decision-making: growth and strategy

In this series, we continue to look at how data-driven decisions sit at the heart of running a successful business.

With the best possible data insights, you can set the core foundations needed for growth.

Without growth, your business is failing to live up to its potential. But planting the seeds of growth can be tricky when you don’t have enough detailed information at your fingertips.

The good news is that you likely already have all the data you need, sitting idle in your software systems. The trick is to consolidate this data, analyse it and to pull out the important patterns, trends and useful data insights.

Armed with this data, you have the best possible bedrock on which to base your next strategic move or the fundamentals of your growth plan.

Let’s take a look at how data can transform your growth:

1. Identify the growth opportunities

Start by looking at the trends in your own sales data and by reviewing the latest market trends. Where are the opportunities to diversify into new areas or improve your targeting of specific audiences? With a clearer overview of these opportunities, you can start to build a more solid growth strategy.

2. Allocate resources more effectively

Delving deeper into your operational data helps you understand how to invest in areas that will drive the most growth and profitability. Where could more staffing make a difference? Where do you need updated equipment? Which processes could be automated to free up resources for growth-based activity?

3. Set more realistic goals

Setting clear goals as a business is what drives the forward movement of the company. But with access to the most in-depth data insights, it’s easier to set realistic and achievable goals for your business. You want to challenge yourself and the team, but also put goals and measures in place that are actually attainable.

4. Measure performance and adjust your strategy

With a growth plan in place, you can track your progress against your agreed goals and milestones. Recording performance data and key performance indicators (KPIs) allows you to track your journey, understand the company’s performance and amend your strategy for the best results.

5. Support data-based decision-making

Instead of making big business decisions on a wing and prayer, you have the foundational insights from your business data to inform you. Instead of relying on bias, assumptions and guesswork, your growth strategy can focus on data-backed opportunities and rational, attainable growth goals.

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Leading from the front isn’t just about having good business ideas. It’s about having the data, the evidence and the historic information to back up your ideas. By switching to data-based decision-making, you put solid data insights at the heart of your growth strategy as a company.

Our team would be more than happy to explain the benefits of data-based insights. We’ll explain how to create the most insightful metrics and reporting for driving your growth journey.