Starting today, I will be running a series called ‘The Alphabet of Business Growth’. Every two weeks I will share a letter of the alphabet. Today is letter A and the word is Analysis.
Analysis is important. You will be analysing your data on a regular basis already. After all, how else will you know it’s the right time to grow your business?
Data in itself, in its raw form, is not that useful. You need to take it, translate it, compare it, convert it, analyse it. Having just raw data sat there will not help your business. You should be analysing all your data. If you aren’t at the moment, ask yourself what is the purpose of the data then.
When you are growing your business, it becomes more important. It needs to be monitored in the lead up, during and after the growth careful to check trends and progression. With regular monitoring, you can identify any issues before they become a problem.
So what exactly is analysis?
A detailed examination of the elements or structure of something. The process of separating something into its constituent elements. The identification and measurement of the chemical constituents of a substance or specimen. In other words, it takes the information you collect and transforms it into something useful that can be measured.
“Analysing your data supports your business growth. It helps you identify areas for improvement and can prevent problems before they cause damage.” Mary Cushen.
Why is it important to analyse your data?
Once you have completed your analysis, the data is useful for many reasons. A few include:
- It can used to measure the performance of individuals, teams and the company.
- You can measure customer satisfaction.
- Higher management can use it determine the direction of business, future investments, why to improvement profits and productivity as well as the opposite side of the fence; identifying potential drops in trends and increased risk of reduced profits.
Knowing where the business stands at any one point in time is important for any business owner if they want to continue to growth and survive in a world that is not as straightforward as it has been in the past.
Downfalls.
However, the analysis is only ever going to be as reliable and accurate as the raw data. Before starting any analysis work, it is imperative to check the source data for:
- Accuracy and Precision
- Legitimacy and Validity
- Reliability and Consistency
- Timeliness and Relevance
- Completeness and Comprehensiveness
- Availability and Accessibility
- Granularity and Uniqueness
“If the source data is inaccurate or unreliable, the analysis will be wasted time and effort.” Mary Cushen.
Are you confident your raw data is accurate. Do you have your analysis mapped out from raw data to KPI?
Data exists in every business. Knowing where it all comes from, making sure it is complete and accurate, understanding what is used for, can all be overwhelming at times.
If this is an area you know you could make improvements in, why not see how I could help you. Mapping out your data is like mapping processes. Your processes are where the data starts in its raw form so the start of data mapping starts there.
Mapping, data or processes (or indeed both), is a bespoke service. All companies operate in different ways, have different tools for collecting and analysing data and different reasons for the data. I work with you to understand what you use data for and where the gaps may exist. A gap analysis is always the first thing I’ll carry out when you work with me.
If you would like to discuss how I could help you move forward, feel free to get in touch. I am always happy to answer any questions you may have. You can also book a 30-minute no obligation Zoom call to discuss your requirements and see if I’m the right fit for your business.