What is your business telling you?

What is your business telling you?

Amidst the clutter of information overload, breaking news headlines and scientific facts, we often find that stories can cut through the noise and make the most impact.  How powerful are these words spoken: “once upon a time”?

Stories are passed on from generation to generation.  They transcend different cultures and span continents. Stories also define people and empower them to thrive.

Every business has a meaningful story to tell and every business owner wants this story to be the one that sticks with the audience. Business owners are so busy with the hustle of entrepreneurship, seeking cookie-cutter solutions, that they forget to listen to the advice that their business insights have to offer.

With access to cloud computing and big data at your fingertips, the world is your oyster. Data is the voice of your business – the story that must be told.

Most businesses make the mistake to use their data only to support their historical decisions, while these insights should drive future actions and steer the business into the best possible direction.

It is so easy to get hold of the data derived from websites, social media, and cloud-accounting software to name a few, but also so easy to get lost in it! It is vital to partner with professionals that have access to the right tools to interpret and tell the story of your business rather than wasting valuable time making sense of it;  time that could have been invested in your business.

How can your business tell your story with your own data? Let’s find out:

1. Point out problems before it is to late

Data visualisation is the way in which you can use the collection of numbers to turn it into a story. Without this narrative, your reports and dashboards can become overwhelming.

Any great insight explains what happened, why it is important and how you can use it to turn it into something actionable. For example, your data could tell you why your sales are not performing as well as it should. Perhaps there is an area of your customer service on which you can improve to gain new customers or retain current customers better? If the problem lies in your marketing strategy, your data may likely show this. Or perhaps the bottleneck might be that your business processes are not streamlined.

Get to the bottom of what is not working.

2. Understand your audience

You need to know who your most valuable customers are and what they look like. What do they buy and how frequently? Are they bound to a certain geographical location, or could it indicate expansion possibilities?

You might be able to target customers based on their preferences and win back customers who might be straying off. Therefore, you need data to identify your audience. You can only connect with them if you are able to invest in them.

3. Measure real-time performance

Using cloud accounting software like Xero, that seamlessly integrate with data analysis tools, like Syft Analystics, you will always be on top of your financial performance insights, which will enable you to make the best and most sound financial decision-making at any time. You will be able to know your solvency and liquidity position in real time when you need investors or financiers to jump on board that new venture.

Valuable insights into the operational efficiency of your business will ensure that all resources are used to their best advantage.

Your business should reveal insights to you as business owner, so that you are inspired to build on these insights and put the next steps in place to improve your outcomes. Data visualisation will convert data into action.

Are you ready to push your business in a new direction? Get your business to tell its own story.