Why small businesses need analytics too

Typically, when you hear the words, “data analytics” you often don’t associate a small business with it. People have this idea that data analytics comes with a large price tag and that small businesses cannot compete in that market because of it.

But with the growth of technology there is certainly better access to data analytics tools than ever before and different buying options; for example look at the cloud and now many companies are moving towards a monthly subscription offering.

Let’s look at a ABC company who sends bi-annual snail mail campaigns to existing customers and potential customers. They send their standard stack of flyers out to hundreds of people about discounts, deals, new services and so on – whether these people need the information or not they feel it’s best to get in front of people anyway possible. ABC company started analyzing sales from those flyers and when it came to preparing budgets for the following year they sat back and thought long and hard.

You see, even small businesses need a data analytics tool. With the use of a smart and powerful tool they can send targeted information to existing customers and targeted information to potential customers depending on geographic area or age groups. With this information it can lead to higher levels of engagement and higher sales because we’ve analyzed the data and acted on it.

Small businesses are starting to see the value of analytics but know they face some barriers; including size of their organization, resources and their current data environment; if any.

But I also see the other side of that. Small businesses get to start from scratch. A clean slate. They have the ability to work with clean data and begin asking questions they didn’t realize before. Running any business is difficult, but as important as it is for a large company to have clarity into the future it is just as important for small companies too. This allows for agility and making sure your business is around for years to come.