Unleash the power of data to make better business decisions Follow these four steps to collect valuable business data You could be sitting on a pile of gold without knowing it. Entrepreneurs have tons of data about their finances, customers and operations. All this data can be an invaluable hidden resource that increases your efficiency and profit margins. Some businesses are going even further, using datadriven insights to make key decisions, develop products and create new business lines. “Many businesses have an intuitive idea about how they’re doing, but no clear data,” says BDC Business Advisor Rayhan Abdulmughnee, who works with businesses on digital technologies. “Entrepreneurs are often too overwhelmed with daily tasks to focus on how they collect data or how they could use it better for decisions. They often don’t realize how valuable their data is.”
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Abdulmughnee offers this four-step guide to unleashing the power of data in your business.
1) Start small and find out what you already collect
It’s useful to start small with data collection, especially if you’re just beginning to think about how to harness business data. Try to collect too much data right away, and you could wind up with confusion about how to use the information or inaccurate numbers.
“You have limited resources,” Abdulmughnee says. “Even just collecting data can be overwhelming. If you’re starting from scratch, choose two or three things to measure at first. As you gain experience, you can add more data.” In fact, your business is probably already collecting a fair bit of data. For example, you may need data on your finances
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for tax and banking purposes. You might also collect sales and marketing information, such as customer details and data on internet traffic and social media interactions. Operational or back-office data is another source of data that’s too often ignored. Consider looking at inventory turnover rates, product margins and
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