How can analytics improve your business?
India has a low level of utilisation of BA.
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Mar 16, 2014
Analytics provide insight into what is happening in the business. It has been said many times that you can't manage what you don't measure. Analytics are used to measure and provide insight.
The key, however, is to measure that what matters most to the business and that the data is correct. Furthermore, having consensus and buy-in from the key stakeholders on both these elements (the right metrics, accuracy and source of the data) is critical. If this is not the case, a lot of time will be wasted on arguing over this, rather than what the analytics are telling you.
Mar 16, 2014
People make business decisions everyday based on analytics or business metrics. It can be as simple as pricing your product or service, such as 1 cent lower/above the competition (analytics being the customer’s price) with no charts required or a simple go/no go gauge to approve a product dimension. It can be as complex as an employee incentive system based the performance metrics of the business with enormous tracking systems in place or the geometric dimensioning of a product. Analytics should always be used to set goals and objectives or to benchmark the business, the degree and use depends on business needs. Using or not using analytics to make complex business decisions is setting a course of action based on facts compared to a feeling or hunch. I believe recording analytics as a tool to run a business is obvious; developing and implementing effective analytics is more difficult.
Mar 17, 2014
Analytics IS business. We use analytics to predict business and then analytics to measure and track business. without analytics there is no business.
Mar 16, 2014
When I work with a company I analyse everything from strengths (of each and everyone, from leaders down to floor level) and all their different strategies (marketing, selling, communication, development, vision, mission, values..) and from that it is always possible to find great ways for improvement. From leadership training to finding everywhere right man at right place, motivate through the mission and improve effectiveness, and finding improvement in existing strategies as well as new ones.
Mar 16, 2014
Good analytics reduce guesswork and risk in the decision-making process. However, analytics are only as good as the supporting data and the objective manner in which that data is interpreted. The effectiveness of analytics requires a combination of science in their development and art in their communication.
Mar 16, 2014
Just like navigational data available before starting the car on a trip to improve the efficiency with which a trip is completed, analytic data can be an effective tool for business improvement. The data lead one to a path to draw better end results.
Mar 16, 2014
One is: How do you stack up with your competition using google analytics:?
Through the benchmarking screen you are able to compare your traffic stats with your competition. Of course, this data isn’t 100% accurate because all of your competitors may not be using Google Analytics, but it’s better than nothing.
You may already have a good understanding of whether your website receives more or less traffic than your competition, but do you know how engaged your visitors are compared to your competition? By comparing stats like average time on site you will get a better idea of how you stack up against your competition and where you need to make changes to start improving your website.
Mar 16, 2014
Not for SME. this required for Groups , International companies , should be matching with whole branches
Mar 16, 2014
First, a bit of a disclaimer: I'm currently the CMO for RapidMiner, one of the leading tools for predictive analytics. I also worked for more than 7 years at Cognos, one of the leading companies in Business Intelligence until the company was acquired by IBM.
Every aspect of a business can be measured and improved upon. Traditional business intelligence tools can tell you much about what happened, and newer, more advanced analytics tools, as a category, can tell you more about what will be. Web analytics can give you a view to your website, what sites and actions are sending you relevant traffic. Different applications of predictive analytics can pinpoint your best prospects, problem areas in your products, or tell you who among your followers, friends and connections is most likely to help spread your message. The key is taking what you learn from analytics and actually implementing change.
Mar 16, 2014
Wikipedia provides an excellent definition and purpose of Analytics, as follows:
"Analytics is the discovery and communication of meaningful patterns in data. Especially valuable in areas rich with recorded information, analytics relies on the simultaneous application of statistics, computer programming and operations research to quantify performance. Analytics often favors data visualization to communicate insight.
Firms may commonly apply analytics to business data, to describe, predict, and improve business performance. Specifically, arenas within analytics include enterprise decision management, retail analytics, store assortment and stock-keeping unit optimization, marketing optimization and marketing mix analytics, web analytics, sales force sizing and optimization, price and promotion modeling, predictive science, credit risk analysis, and fraud analytics. ...."
Mar 16, 2014
In a business environment you get 2 kinds of information (a) Qualitative (b) Quantitative. Analytic's refers to the latter- Quantitative information. If you are an engineer you will understand it better if mention probability theory, co-relation and regression analysis etc. Analytic's provides justifies Decision Support Systems ( DSS). i.e tangible evidence to support a hypothesis. However, I must caution that not always tangible evidence is enough to support a hypothesis because many variables such as " Emotions" haven't yet been quantified or are not quantifiable. So user discretion is needed :)
Mar 16, 2014
Decisions supported by (the appropriate) information tend to be better than those made on a whim. Businesses have to work out (hence the "analytics") what information is most helpful to making the right decision. In many cases, the right information or analytic processes do not have to be complicated. In a few cases, the information gained from a massive investment in data collection and analysis can create enough of a difference over one's competition that it makes the investment well worth while. The question is not whether a majority of businesses are using BA; the question is whether businesses are leaving so much money on the table that they should be using BA to help scoop it up.
Mar 16, 2014
Analytics can give a company a view of consumer awareness, usage, satisfaction, attitude. They can also provide a handle on how much each campaign is affecting the market. Then they check the sales and at the end if all data is entered correctly and on time, one can use analytics in order to predict the near future.
Data and Statistical models also help in determining high risk clients and do cross sales. Pareto tables show which clients you need to focus on. The list can go on forever.
Countries in the third world develop Analytics for the West, but hardly use them themselves. It's a shame.
Mar 16, 2014
Analytics is the future to more effective customer centric marketing. If you have questions about how to utilize this powerful evolving management tool let me know.
Mar 16, 2014
They can't, only people can improve business.
Analytics are just a tool for people to use and they may only apply for situation that can be affected.
Mar 16, 2014
can you be more specific please, when you talk about Business Analytics, my area is call center and business developments in the industry
thanks
Mar 16, 2014
Analytics can help a business in many areas, from marketing, to operations to financial and capital investing. Having a systematic business approach is critical to success no matter in what area of business you apply this analysis.
Mar 16, 2014
Analytic discovery is definitive. Only with good numbers can positive predictive changes be made.
Mar 16, 2014
You can use analytics in different ways. First is to improve your business decisions, basing them on data rather than on gut feeling. (Predictive) Analytics help you answer questions beyond 'what did happen'. It can help you with 'what could happen' and 'what should happen'. Secondly, analytics can also be directly integrated in your processes for improvement. Think of smart personalised websites that 'act' on the behavior of the visitors or processes that are managed by analytics in general. We support companies implementing both.
These areas can lead to more effective marketing plans and more effective targeting of markets for a product. In terms of operations, analytics can make a company more efficient and help it to save money. Financially, it can help companies invest more appropriately in projects that can expand the business for example.