Why is quality data important to a growing business.

Every website you visit asks you to accept cookies. Have you ever wondered why? Simply because they want to have as much quality data about you as possible.

In simple terms, the more they know about you, the more likely you are to buy their products or services. By gathering as much quality data as possible, companies can do two things,

1) They can target specific products and solutions to you at the time when you are most likely to buy.
2) They can also sell this information to partners so that they, in turn, can ‘sell’ to you at the right time.

They can use the data to identify which products you are interested in, what stage of the buying cycle you are at and adjust their interaction accordingly.

Company use

In the same way, as a company the data you hold on your clients, whether it’s a name, current product use or new interests, help’s you to build a much better picture of the client and their business.

Sales and Marketing

From a sales & marketing perspective, having detailed up to date information is a huge asset to a growing company. You can target exactly the right audience at exactly the right time to maximise revenue. It also helps you avoid embarrassing errors such as sending price discount deals to clients who just bought the product last week for example.

Customer Service

Similarly, having quality data will greatly improve customer service. The adage that ‘people buy from people’ is still true today. If you can personalize every interaction with your client, (whether that means knowing their buying patterns, how many issues they have had in the past, even the names of their children & pets etc.), they will be more likely to buy from you again and again.

Business Management

Looking at it from a management perspective, having quality data allows for better decision making. Whether it is prioritising work or expenditure, forecasting or revenue tracking, having up to date data is crucial.

Other benefits of Quality Data

Quality data can also enable many other benefits to the business such as:

• • Automation of repeat tasks.
  • Reducing time spent by staff on non-revenue generating tasks.
  • The early warning of problems or issues and preventing them. For example;
    • Tracking sales on a product line can prevent overstocking.
    • Identifying trends in increasing temperatures in supermarket freezers can prevent lost stock due to equipment failure.
    • Scaling this up if you see changes in trends such as valve failures on an oil pipeline, you could prevent not only a loss of oil but prevent an ecological disaster!

So, if we agree that data quality offers a growing business a host of benefits, why are so many businesses still using multiple spreadsheets to capture and manage their data? Using the correct business system to manage your business allows you to capture all the necessary information in one database and the make it available to the right people in the business at the right time to action. It allows data to be entered once, avoiding duplication and the potential for errors. Reports can be generated whenever required without staff involvement and thresholds can be set which alert staff to issues as they arise, ensuring maximum operational efficiency and reduce waste.

Are you using multiple spreadsheets? Would you like to explore the possibilities of a consolidated business system? We’re happy to help.