What Data Really Matters for SMBs?
Working with small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), I know how challenging it can be to manage data effectively. However, identifying and utilizing the right data with the right tools can significantly impact the success of an SMB. Let’s explore six data points that SMBs should focus on to improve their business operations.
Sales Data- Your Fuel Gauge:
Just as the fuel gauge shows you how much gas you have left and whether you need to fill up, sales data shows you how much revenue you’ve generated and whether you need to make changes to your sales strategy. This data helps drive your decisions on pricing strategies and accurate sales forecasting. For example, a small retail business can use sales data to adjust its inventory levels to meet demand, avoid stockouts, and minimize overstocking. By identifying their best-selling products, they can optimize inventory and ensure they always had enough stock on hand to meet customer demand.
Customer Data- Your GPS:
The GPS helps you navigate to your destination by providing information about your route and traffic conditions. Likewise, customer data helps you navigate your business by providing information about your target audience and their behavior. Customer data is always valuable for providing these insights. Analyzing customer data helps SMBs identify their ideal customers, create targeted marketing campaigns, and improve the overall customer experience whether in an e-Commerce site or a brick-and-mortar shop. To further illustrate this point, a small online clothing retailer can use customer data to create personalized recommendations for each customer based on their purchase history. This approach not only increases customer loyalty but also leads to higher conversion rates. Many companies are already doing this, some leveraging AI technology for this purpose.
Website Analytics- Your Dashboard:
The dashboard provides you with information about your speed, fuel level, and other performance metrics. Website analytics data provides similar insights into the performance of all aspects of your website. Some areas to specifically look at closely include website traffic, page views, bounce rates, and conversion rates. This data helps SMBs optimize their website for better performance, resulting in increased online visibility, engagement, and ultimately, more conversions and sales. Case in point: a small e-commerce business can track website analytics data to identify which pages on their website were performing well and which ones needed improvement. By optimizing their website based on this data, they could significantly increase traffic, leads, and conversion rates.
Financial Data- Your Engine:
The engine is a key piece of equipment. It keeps the car running properly. Your financial data does the same thing. The financial data is the key to the financial health of the company, keeping the business running properly. Specifically, analyze revenue, expenses, and profits to identify areas where you might find cost-reduction opportunities and other areas where you might optimize spending. Let’s say a small consulting firm uses financial data to identify services that are generating the most revenue and which ones were not profitable. By focusing on their profitable services, they could increase their revenue and profitability, great for their bottom line!
Employee Data- Your Wheels:
As the car rests on the wheels and relies on them to move the vehicle where it wants to go, you do the same with your staff. Thus, employee data, the health of your workforce, is the tread on your wheels and the air in the tires. They are vital to getting you where you want to go. If one isn’t working right the others are also not as productive. Sometimes they need a little air to make them work better or tightening of the lug nuts to keep them on tightly. Your employee data does the same thing. Employee metrics include productivity, attendance, satisfaction, and turnover rates. This can help a small business make data-driven decisions on hiring, performance evaluations, and training programs, which will ultimately lead to a more engaged and productive workforce. Imagine a small manufacturing company using employee data to identify areas where their workforce needed additional training. They identify several key areas and corresponding training opportunities available. By providing targeted training programs, they were able to increase their workforce’s productivity and satisfaction which improves the company’s overall performance.
Social Media Analytics- The Parking Lot:
People often congregate at the beginning or end of their day. Social media sites are the “meeting place” for your business. Social media analytics provide insights into social media campaigns’ performance. Look specifically at engagement rates, audience demographics, and popular content to help your SMB optimize its social media strategy, resulting in increased engagement, brand awareness, and sales. For instance, a small restaurant explores its social media analytics data to identify which posts were generating the most engagement, driving customers to the restaurant, and which ones were falling flat. Focusing on the most popular posts would allow the company to increase its social media following and attract more customers. Comments and reviews are also valuable in improving the customer experience through a variety of channels such as food quality, service, and overall impression of the restaurant.
SMBs must focus on the right data to make sound data-informed decisions to drive business growth. Using these key metrics, you can improve your business outcomes and make better decisions about the actions you take.
If you are interested in diving deeper into your data, reach out to Klik to get your data journey started with Klik Analytics. We can help you identify what data points are important to your success while providing you with powerful visualizations of your data to help you clearly identify your successes and your pain points. We believe your data can take you places. What’s your destination?