Business Intelligence is a topic of controversy these days. There are business owners who still believe that small businesses don’t necessarily need to analyze their data.
In today’s increasingly competitive business environment, where customers are becoming harder to attract, spreadsheets alone won’t cut it. You need to collect and use data to make good business decisions.
Your business data can be anything including customer purchase behaviors, emails of prospective clients, sales figures, marketing expenses, new markets, social media trends, and so forth.
Collecting and analyzing all this raw data, all while keeping a close eye on ROI, can be quite tricky. This is where Business Intelligence (BI) tools come in.
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What Are Business Intelligence Tools?
Business Intelligence (BI) tools are types of software used to gather, store, process, analyze, and transform large volumes of business data into useful business insights that inform strategic decisions.
What BI tools do is make a company’s raw data usable. The goal is to provide actionable solutions for businesses to optimize operational efficiency and enhance productivity.
Below, we’ll go over the six problems Business Intelligence tools can solve for your business.
Problems Business Intelligence Tools Can Solve
1. Disorderly Data
Dealing with data stored in various forms across multiple locations can be mind-numbing. Just imagine having to retrieve financial metrics in separate spreadsheets, sales and performance figures in different reports, and so on.
Important pieces of information could easily get lost when you deal with such disorderly data.
With BI tools, you can integrate all business data into a central location, where every member of your team will access it.
This reduces the stress of dealing with data locked in various software and spreadsheets. Organizing data in one centralized location also provides a holistic view of the business.
2. Loss of Customers
Losing customers is probably the worst nightmare any business can experience. When your clients move to your competitors, likely, you don’t know exactly what they want.
BI tools analyze specific metrics to create detailed, valuable insights into your customers’ behaviors. You can build a customized website or app using a platform like Microsoft PowerApps and integrate it with your BI software.
Now, as customers interact with your site or app, BI creates in-depth guest profiles that feature interests, preferences, history, and more.
This information helps you to know your customers better, so you can create personalized services that meet their needs.
3. Ineffective Business Model
Business Intelligence software analyzes your company’s performance data and compares it with all the external business information to uncover potential opportunities.
When you have the right set of company data, external market insights, customer buying habits, and competitor market strategy, you’ll be able to create a more effective business model.
For businesses, this means studying market trends, being strategic with placing products and investing in the right marketing initiatives.
BI helps you discover the reasons your business isn’t performing as well as the competition. Implementing BI reports helps you build a more sustainable, result-oriented business model.
4. Slow or Unresponsive Market
The slow market response is irritating and discouraging. You put up a great product or service, only for the market to react too slowly, or even stop reacting at all.
And, unless you know what’s going on, it’s barely impossible to solve this problem. Using a BI solution, you get to define what’s trending in the market right now.
BI provides real-time reports that empower you to make realistic decisions based on current information.
For example, if you know how many pieces of a particular product were sold, you’ll be able to develop an effective sales strategy that responds quickly to market demands.
5. Over-Reliance on Tech-Skilled Colleagues
Many traditional tools for analyzing and reporting data are too complicated to use. So much so that many businesses have made data handling a preserve of their tech-skilled teams.
BI tools are much easier to use and you don’t need to rely on your tech department every time you need a custom report.
Lots of BI solutions come with manuals, videos, and even live training tutorials to help your non-tech-savvy teams to understand how they work. Democratizing the use of these tools across the business can go a long way in improving your ROI.
6. Lack of Universal Access to Data
Businesses can’t achieve a competitive edge if team members lack universal access to real-time data. Access to up-to-date information across the organization can help with making faster and better decisions.
A fully integrated BI solution makes information universally available to managers, senior executives, and everyone within the organization. People can access crucial business information anytime, anywhere, and on a wide range of devices.
With updated business data within reach, you can make strategic business decisions on the go. Whether it’s sealing a new deal, servicing a regular client better, or salvaging an under-performing job, real-time data is a must.
Want to learn more about the possibilities of Business Intelligence tools? Don’t know how to implement the BI services? Don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re always here to help.
