Gathering business intelligence and understanding customer information is more important than ever. 2020 has shown us that nothing is certain.
Business has been greatly impacted by the pandemic, with customer behaviour changing frequently and dramatically. To survive you need to have an agile approach, so you can pivot your business strategy and grab sales opportunities before they are missed.
Yet, to be controversial, data is not in itself the answer.
Why data is no good for business
Harnessing company data is critical, so you can base sales, marketing and business strategies on fact. Data though is not the same as insight or meaningful information. Data needs to be cleansed, evaluated and analysed. Only then will it provide insights into the market, your customers and competitors. This analysis takes time and often expertise, which can be out of reach for many SMEs. And in a fast-changing business world timely information is important. So, what is the answer?
How can SMEs get the insights they need to pivot their business strategy?
Capturing real-time information from customers is a great place to start.
If you’re an SME and feel that customer data capture and analytics is something others do, then think again. Technology provides many solutions. With cloud-based solutions SMEs can incorporate data-driven decision making. Our affordable iQme option, for example, means customer intelligence is within the grasp of all businesses, large or small. Importantly iQme operates in real-time, with automated reports to deliver meaningful information, not just data.
Capturing feedback, in the moment, from customers can help you understand what is working and what is not.
In these strange new times, how people feel and what influences their purchasing decisions may be different. Think about what information you want to know. What questions you wish to ask your customers? After all you need to provide what the customer wants, right? And you shouldn’t change things for the sake of change, or base your decisions on a hunch.
Importantly you need to provide what the customer wants at the time that they want it. This is where real-time information comes into its own. Capturing in-the-moment customer feedback is only useful if the information is also in real-time.
Our powerful cloud-based platform takes your data, cleanses and evaluates it, providing you reports that are meaningful, information that is actionable. Maybe it’s as simple as fine-tuning your business, adapting to survive Or, perhaps with the impact of the pandemic you discover an idea, a way to pivot your strategy, branching out your business to secure new opportunities? One that may only be apparent following an in-the-moment survey.
Hope is not a strategy. Data is not the answer.
Real-time meaningful information helps you keep your finger on the pulse. In these times of change, business owners need to be quick thinking and be agile with their strategy. Yet strategy still needs to be based on fact, facts that are timely.
