e x pert a dv i c e
The value of a data analytics strategy in driving competitive advantage for franchises
Data has gone from an esoteric term to a critical entry on many organisations’ balance sheet in the last decade or so. As the world’s reliance on digital systems has increased, the amount of data being generated has exploded.
More than 90 per cent of the world’s data was created in the past five years alone1 and, by 2025, more than 463 exabytes of data will be created each day2. This data is coming from a range of sources. Social media interactions, transactions, and the Internet of Things (IoT) account for most of this data. Capturing and analysing it effectively can shine a bright light on trends and behaviours that can help businesses make smarter decisions. Everything from which product to manufacture at which time of year, to what discounts to offer customers in a particular demographic, can be determined
with a high degree of accuracy if this data is managed properly and analysed strategically. Data plays a crucial role in helping decisionmakers anticipate market changes and opportunities before they occur, positioning the business to respond faster. For example, data can be used to analyse a customer’s pathway through the organisation, highlighting points of friction and showing where customers may become dissatisfied. The organisation can then address those areas directly. This helps businesses improve internal processes and efficiencies, reduce costs, and enhance the customer experience. It can also show where technology can remove costly, manual, repetitive tasks for further savings. With this in mind, it’s not surprising that many companies are choosing to list data on their balance sheet. The competitive advantage it can provide is enormous and, potentially, even game-changing. And, it’s not just large enterprises that can benefit from big data and analytics. Small and medium enterprises such as franchises can use data to help drive competitive behaviour. Regardless of the size of the business or the market in which it operates, nearly every problem confronting a franchisee or executive can be addressed using data analytics. Having a data analytics strategy is no longer a nice-to-have for any business. If a business isn’t leveraging the data at its disposal, then it’s throwing away the potential to become a market leader, improve profits and operational resilience, and empower decision-making that improves performance and profitability. Never has it been more important for small business owners to think like big business and eke out every opportunity to outperform the competition. As organisations continue to recover from the pandemic, many are finding that the approaches that worked before COVID-19 aren’t as effective now. That’s
20 Business Franchise Australia and New Zealand
