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Business Intelligence (BI) in Small Business

Data analytics is fast becoming a most vital instrument in a small business’s digital toolbox. Business intelligence (BI) utilises data and the analysis of data, both internal and external, to develop ways for an organisation to improve its overall market share within its industry.

A business’s data can be collected easily in today’s technological environment, but interpreting the data in a way that delivers commercial advantages to a business can be harder to do. BI software and all its practices of analysing collected data may inform business decisions, enhance customer communication and generate marketing approaches.

BI software is available from a myriad of software providers and once it has been integrated in to your business’s digital mix, there are ways to specifically apply it to your business. BI provides custom dashboards, predictive – ‘what if?’-style – analyses and, importantly, reports that can interact with your other digital programs.

Here are a few examples of BI-in-action in small business:

Local Restaurant Chain

Head office management of logistical and marketing operations was difficult due to disparate sources of data

  • When a new self-service BI platform was introduced in to the stores, a centralised view of operations of all stores was possible. This meant management could now track large-scale operational effectiveness, whilst enabling speedier reporting, greater access in-store to helpful data and a more effective and individualised strategic approach store-to-store. Supply chain stabilisation was possible when disparate data was finally consolidated via a BI method.
Local Meal Preparation Company

Manual marketing reporting took too long to complete and was untimely, limiting insightful marketing communications

  • BI solved this company’s problem by delivering a centralised and automated reporting process from digitally-extracted data. The existing marketing analytics team was able to better inform the marketing strategy team, providing timely information on customer behaviour. The company was able to be reactive to its various types of customers and thereby improve customer service and customer retention.
Regional Wholesale Beverage Company

Restrictive access to in-the-field manual sales and operations data hindered growth

  • BI came to the rescue through automation of the company’s customer relationship management (CRM) platform. Mobile dashboards provided to the company’s sales representatives gave the salesforce critical information they could use to enrich customer relationship-building and to use as a competitive advantage. With their mobile, interactive dashboards, the company’s IT team and the salesforce cooperated more effectively to improve CRM. This, in turn, created a more collaborative environment, benefiting both customers and company operational logistics.
These real-life examples show how implementing BI software in to a business can provide time-saving and cost-effective digital solutions to many archaic manual ways of working.

Small businesses do not usually have the same financial resources as big business, but BI is affordable and achievable on a relative scale. When your business’s data is accurately and optimally analysed, you may find you have far greater ability to make data-based decisions that can propel your business towards a more profitable future.

How can YML help?

Talk to our YML Innovation Team today to see how YML Group can assist you with your Business Intelligence strategy. Contact us on (02) 8383 4400 or by visiting the Contact Us page on our website.

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