Why you need analytics in your business plan

Without this data, you'll waste time and money

Last night for dinner, I had an apple and brie flatbread with balsamic glaze. Which, let me tell you, was L.O.V.E.L.Y.  However, without the trial-and-error period of analytics that tested out baking times to ensure just the right amount of crispness, I would have had a meal that tasted like cardboard.

Now, this is a dialed down version of how analytics affects our lives, but analytics are everywhere. We depend on them to get through the day, especially in our business lives.

We need to know what our customers are interested in and how they respond to us versus our competitors. If we ignore this information and carry out campaigns and sales processes without any data to back us up, we will waste a lot of time and money.

In NewVantage Partners’ annual survey, 97% of respondents said they are investing in analytical programs while 73% “said they have received measurable value from these initiatives.” If you haven’t begun investing in data analytics, you’re already far behind the wake of your competitors.

Don’t fret, though. There are many resources that will support your analytics journey. My favorite programs are:

• Google Analytics – A free service supported by Google that tracks all of your website traffic. You can get demographic information as well as details on the path a customer/prospect took to get to your site, what they viewed while there and at what point they left.
• Google Data Studio – Also supported by Google, Data Studio is a free tool that makes custom reports from information collected from analytics providers such as Google Analytics and Facebook insights.
• Zapier – When you are not able to make a direct connection between a service and Google Data Studio, Zapier plays the middle man.

From tracking the demographics of my followers on Facebook to knowing what city generates the most activity on my website, I use these tools to keep my outreach successful. When I see some unusual results, such as a drop in views from customers in the age range of 25 to 40, I can immediately put the breaks on, review the stats that alerted me to the decrease and set a course of action to gain these views back.

My course of action is a more educated one, as it can be determined by current and past analytics results. I could also test new strategies as well – maybe one that a competitor took that gave them great results. Without analytics, I wouldn’t have valuable information to base my efforts on. My business intelligence would greatly suffer as well.

Data analytics will provide you with key insights into your client’s preferences and their buying habits, which will allow you to more easily convert leads into customers. If you’re looking to get started on your analytics journey right away, click here.

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