Today’s business climate relies on data.
In fact, it is nearly impossible to make big moves and enjoy growth if you’re not keeping track of the various details affecting operations on a daily basis.
As companies continue to increase the amount of technology used during basic tasks, the amount of information stored and saved for future analysis only increases.
Typically, the concept of business data is far-reaching and includes everything from simple analytics details to in-depth reviews of organizational performance.
That said, it is important to realize that keeping and storing this type of information is a key aspect of data-driven marketing.
After all, how do you know what needs to change within your company if you aren’t keeping track of what’s already happened?
Consider the different aspects that your company is already tracking: from Google Analytics reports to your CRM program, there’s a good chance you’re accumulating quite a bit of business data on a regular basis.
Here’s what you need to know about it and why it is such a vital aspect of running a successful enterprise.
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What Is Business Data?
In simple terms, business data is any bit of information that relates to the running of a company.
This can be something as simple as a list of employees or as intricate as an accounting ledger.
It can also include elements such as:
- Operational costs.
- Strategic overviews.
- Customer contact information.
In fact, any sort of information your employees save for use in marketing, operations, human resources, or sales planning could technically be deemed as business data.
Even marketing data, which is crucial for making proper advertising decisions, is a vital aspect of the bigger business data picture.
Often, this level of information can include private customer details or proprietary information, too. So it’s important to have a strong storage solution with plenty of security measures in place.
Failure to take appropriate precautions could lead to a breach, which could lead to hefty fines or even a lawsuit.
Some elements of business data, like personal consumer details, are regulated by various forms of jurisdictional government.
Even mildly insignificant information and details should be stored safely and securely at all times.
The Importance Of Using Business Data
Business data is an integral part of growing your enterprise.
After all, this is the information your organization uses to make executive decisions, streamline marketing campaigns, and develop winning ideas that increase overall growth.
Consider these questions:
➜ How would you know if a specific digital marketing campaign performed if you weren’t keeping track of and storing this type of data?
➜ How would you get in touch with a list of top customers who regularly buy from your company?
By consistently collecting and monitoring this type of information, your development teams can make smarter decisions overall regarding all aspects of your business.
In turn, that leads to more growth and more effective strategies.
Of course, not all business data is entirely useful.
But that’s the beauty of data-driven growth and why your in-house experts are there to help you discover the most important nuggets of information.
Sometimes, what might seem small and insignificant one day can be an absolute game changer for your organization the next.
What Are The Types Of Business Data?
It’s safe to say that there are many different items that can be considered business data.
When you’re considering everything from basic sales details to intricate accounting notices, you might wonder what’s the most vital and what really isn’t important.
While this list isn’t inclusive, this will give you a much clearer picture of the various types of business data:
- Supply chain management information.
- Sales data.
- Warehouse and inventory data.
- Website traffic statistics.
- Customer contact information.
- Interactions between team members, stakeholders, and customers.
- Notes of varying campaigns.
- Future business ideas and trends.
- Marketplace data.
- Social media campaign information.
- Product data and descriptions.
- Business and sales plans.
- Emails to prospective clients.
- Blog posts added to your website.
- Market research statistics.
- Information from customer surveys and interactive content.
- Email marketing details.
This is just a small sampling of the thousands of items that can be considered business data.
It isn’t just numbers and percentages.
Analysts consider anything knowledge-related to be a resource including textual data and other key documentation.
In some cases, even graphic elements such as logos could be considered a digital asset that falls under business data.
Some analysts break assets down into bigger sections like resource data, machine data, transaction data, and other segments.
However, for the purpose of general comprehension, as long as you understand that business data is all of the information and digital documents relating to your company’s overall operations, you realize the extent of what could possibly fit into that classification.
How Business Data Is Used By Different Teams In A Company
Within one organization different teams will use business data differently.
What one department finds helpful could be considered useless to another.
➜ For example, a marketing team would benefit from certain analytics details for your business website, such as time spent on the page, bounce rate, lead conversion, and other items relating to your digital marketing plan.
➜ A financial analyst, on the other hand, would likely want to see elements like the productivity data for employees, overall accounting information, tax data, and anything else that relates directly to the actual business operations of your company.
➜ What about a growth analyst? This person might want to review your year-over-year sales, the average monthly income for your organization, and regular expenditures for the business.
➜ Finally, your brand consultant would want to see information from A/B testing on a new logo or response to certain brand colors after making a change.
While the data we’ve mentioned here could realistically be shared with the entire organization, some of it might not make sense to a particular group of individuals or even relate to their particular skill set.
Knowing the different types of business data and how they relate to a specific department or sector of your organization really just comes back to:
- Understanding where the information originates.
- What it correlates with.
- And how it can be used to make future improvements in that division.
What Is The Role Of A Business Data Analyst In A Company?
When it comes to overall operations, a business data analyst has a very important role within any organization.
This is the member of your team that looks at various pieces of data from a comprehensive angle and helps decide what it means and how it relates to the overall picture of growth.
As professionals, business data analysts must be attuned to looking for connections between elements and understanding the various aspects of how things come together.
They should all have a natural curiosity for figuring out puzzles, such as why certain data points predict one thing and other elements lean towards another.
Seeing clarity in the facts, figures, and numbers is a crucial aspect of this type of career path.
While their role is essential, business analysts are simply the team members who can look at a lot of information to understand where your company is headed based on a particular set of details.
Wrap Up: Why Business Data Is So Important To Companies
In short, business data is an incredibly crucial aspect of your overall operations.
Without a clear picture of what your company or individual departments are doing, it would be very difficult to make decisions for long-term planning.
While some information is just textual data for later use, some of the intricate details that come out of your business can give analysts insight into where you’re headed as a future organization.
The good news?
The analysts that examine the information in intricate detail can often spot trends or warnings as soon as they appear in the data.
This means that you can make decisions based on concrete information that your company has stored along the way.
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