As a business owner in 2018, you’re luckier than all of your predecessors.
Why? Technology.
Fast, cheap software means it’s easier than ever to track exactly how much your business is earning and spending. Need to know how to increase your income quickly? No problem! You or your IT specialists can easily tap into your existing data on what’s selling in order to maximize your appeal to target customers. Infinite computational possibilities are right at your fingertips. In 2018, business intelligence is all about choice and seemingly limitless possibility. So, if there’s no shortage of software, data and know-how … why do so many small businesses struggle to grow revenues? To put it more bluntly: Why do 8 out of 10 small businesses fail within the first 18 months?
Business Intelligence is not just for Enterprise Clients
Big data is an unparalleled resource for companies today. But these huge volumes of information as well as the incredibly granular details they contain require highly sophisticated software for analysis and organization. Huge amounts of data require a skilled team to steward it. We’re talking IT specialists, trained consultants, data centers and more. Enterprise corporations can cobble together such a team (or hire a consulting firm to do so) without too much difficulty. But for small businesses, there are lower levels of data and only relevant data is needed. The same level of effort is not required. While a lean company might pursue business intelligence as a means of understanding its customers to improve its bottom line — the costs associated with the setup and analysis of the data to derive new strategies can quickly generate extraordinary returns on investment.
Companies using analytics have 126% profit improvements over its competitors. The best part is that as a small-business, increasing your cash flow through business intelligence does not require the same effort of hiring staff, making enormous changes to the current systems or spending a fortune. The delicate balance for growing businesses between costs and benefits to implement business intelligence becomes a no-brainer once you consider the 13 times Average ROI reported by companies making investments in analytics solutions.
The Right Way for Small Businesses to Approach BI
Small businesses need different BI solutions than their large business counterparts, that is not at all to say that small businesses don’t get the same value from these solutions.
Business intelligence for small businesses is just as if not even more important. It’s a critical item on any small business’ must-have checklist.
So, what are the main differences with how successful BI works for a small business vs. how it works for enterprise corporations? Here are 4 key distinctions.
- Ability to make Quick Adjustments
- Business Awareness and Self-Assessment Are Critical
- Use Web Analytics to Your Advantage
- Crawl, Walk, Run