How to Accelerate Your Business Maturity With Data-Driven Processes
For most businesses, there is more data available than ever before. That data makes it possible to make critical business decisions, from when to expand areas of the brand to when to scale back operations. It helps stakeholders decide how to ensure higher customer satisfaction. Many businesses need to figure out how to use that data best. This uncertainty can lead to lower overall business maturity and an inability to meet changing consumer demand.
Are you ready to start moving your business toward higher levels of maturity? Check out these essential strategies and how they can help improve your business.
1. Assess Your Current Data Maturity
There are several levels of data maturity, from the very beginning stages (where you might be collecting and using little to no data as part of your daily business processes) to full maturity, where you are using data-driven insights and processes to help measure the results of your actions and drive future business decisions. A fully mature organization will use comprehensive data to:
Evaluate business decisions
Decide on its next steps
Move forward toward its goals
Carefully assess your current level of data maturity. Consider:
How is your business collecting data?
What methods are you using to collect information about your customers, your industry, and your business as a whole? Are you using unbiased data collection methods? Or is there a possibility of bias in your collection and use of that data?
What data are you collecting?
What information is your business currently collecting? Are you taking advantage of social listening opportunities? Are you managing surveys and communications with your current clients? Are you gleaning information from your salespeople?
What data is beneficial to your business?
In some cases, businesses may only collect large quantities of data if they still determine what that data can offer them. But this can be inefficient and frustrating. What information do you need to know to drive current and future business decisions?
How is your data stored?
Once you have collected essential data, how are you storing it? How much data can you collect over time? Also, what is the mechanism for deciding when data is outdated? Is that data secure and backed up so that you can protect it in the event of a breach?
Who has access to your data?
In a mature organization, the people who need critical data can access it easily. They will not have to jump through hoops, ask for permission, or wait extensively for access.
Is your data usage coordinated?
You want to ensure that employees have access to the data they need. But you also want to ensure your employees understand how that data is used. If you have a highly uncoordinated data usage strategy, then it could prevent you from making the most of your data collection.
2. Determine What Maturity Looks Like for Your Business
To effectively improve your overall maturity, carefully consider what maturity looks like for your business. Then set clear goals that will help you reach that stage. Typically, a data-driven business will have these key attributes:
Data collection is streamlined and comprehensive across the company.
The collection includes using automated tools that capture vital data for the entire company. Once collected, authorized access can be shared with key decision-makers across the organization.
Decisions are only made with access to data that will help drive business processes and improve understanding.
Since data is vital to the company's underlying culture, decision-makers will only move forward with new initiatives or decisions if they have data to back them up. If enough information is unavailable, the team should know how to access data, collect it, and put it together to make more informed decisions.
Employees at every level of the organization have access to the information and data they need to make critical decisions.
Data drives decision-making. In mature organizations, employees do not have to question whether they can access essential information to make vital decisions, and they have easy access to that information. As a result, they can be more independent in their decision-making processes.
3. Develop a Plan to Improve Data (and Business) Maturity
Once you have assessed your current level of data maturity and considered how you could better use that data across your business, develop a plan that will allow you to achieve the higher levels of business maturity you need, which only happens after some time! Instead, progress through the stages of maturity for your business. Be sure to focus on your organization’s unique needs so each step brings value.
Choose the right tools.
Having the right tools can make a big difference in achieving business maturity. Evaluate what tools are necessary for your business. You may need the following:
Data collection and analytics tools
Adequate storage solutions
Cybersecurity protections
Carefully evaluate the tools you're considering to ensure they fit your business's needs. You don't need tools that will make your job more difficult. Instead, choose tools that will integrate well with your existing tech stack.
Develop new policies.
As part of your new data transformation, you need clear policies to govern your collection and usage of vital data. How will you use the data that is collected? What is most important to your brand? Ensure you are working with individuals across departments in your organization to develop policies that fit all their needs while protecting your organization's overall security. Policies should include:
What type of information do you need to collect?
Why are you collecting specific data types, including how you intend to use them?
Who are you sharing data with (both inside and outside your organization)?
How long will you retain data?
What steps are you taking to help protect that essential data and your organization?
By creating clear plans and policies, you can help guide your business toward higher levels of business maturity.
Provide training.
For many businesses, shifting to full business maturity means changing employee mindsets and processes. In many cases, employees have done things the same way for years, making decisions based on their knowledge and observations or failing to take the correct data into account when making critical decisions. As you shift to full business maturity, on the other hand, your employees need to know how to use the data being collected. Ensure all employees understand the following:
Where can they access it?
What tools do they need to use to assess it?
How should that data play into their decisions moving forward?
To help ensure that employees are on board with the changes—and to make the most of the new maturity of your organization—employees should receive updated training as needed.
Improve Your Brand's Business Maturity
Data is vital for every aspect of your brand, from your marketing and localization to your branding. By utilizing the right tools and improving overall business maturity, you will find that your brand can step into the present and remain competitive in an ever-changing world.