How to Develop a Data Strategy to Power Business Growth

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The market is hyper-competitive, and the pressure on businesses to scale fast has never been higher. Consumer expectations have risen, markets are flooded with nimble competitors, and with the proliferation of cloud technologies and machine learning, it can seem like disruption is coming from all directions. To contend with these new market dynamics, organizations need to make all-important decisions in novel areas of business, often at a breakneck pace. The decisions made by executives over the next few years could have existential consequences, and those that are making the right decisions have something in common: they have a strong data strategy.

Companies that don’t possess the capabilities to handle, understand, and make decisions using high-quality data are doomed to not survive this current cycle. Those with a strong, carefully planned data strategy, and that use their data as an asset, have the potential to not only outperform their rivals, but build businesses that can stand the test of time. Here are three ways a data strategy can turbocharge your business growth.

Data-Driven Differentiation

When we think about the term “differentiation,” we think about the qualities that make any company stand out from the crowd. To know what these qualities are, leaders require a robust understanding of their business, at both a granular and big-picture level.  

This is where your data strategy comes in. The rise of cloud computing has enabled organizations to use virtually unlimited amounts of data and information. When this data is integrated – that is, collected, stored, and combined - in the right way, it enables leaders to make evidence-based decisions to improve operations, identify new growth opportunities, better serve customers, and gain an unbeatable competitive advantage.

Mitigating Operational and Industry Risk

When the power of your data is unlocked through a strong data strategy, it can spotlight key information, patterns and trends that allow your organization to deal with potentially disruptive events in real time. Here are two examples:

1. Companies can leverage data to identify factors contributing to sales declines, brand fatigue, or customer churn. This information can help the business accurately predict how these factors may change or exacerbate and adjust their operations accordingly.

2. Data can also be used to improve employee satisfaction and productivity, as well as improve company culture and reduce turnover, by providing insights to inform hiring and management practices.

Optimized Business Performance with Data Strategy

When harnessed properly, you can use data to create highly valuable business insights. Not only do these insights give leaders a better view of the business; they also narrow down a company’s performance levers, and catalyze business value in the following areas:

1. Revenue Creation

• Unlocking new revenue streams
• Optimizing existing revenue channels
• Diversifying revenue sources

2. Cost Savings

• Reallocating valuable resources
• Automating processes
• Streamlining access to information  

3. Operational Intelligence

• Improving real-time and predictive analytics  
• Driving better, faster decision making
• Enabling self-serve measurement and automated reporting  

One study found that following best practices in data usage led directly to a 66 percent increase in revenue for businesses, while another found that data-driven businesses are more than 20x more likely to acquire new customers and 6x more likely to retain them in the long term.

Finding the Right Partner to Create your Data Strategy

For businesses to become truly data-driven, we believe there are two key ingredients that are necessary for success. The first is a deep understanding of the systems required to collect, organize, and store data. The second is strategy – knowing how to derive business value and actionable insights from the large amounts of information collected.  

Traditionally, businesses have relegated the technical labour to IT teams, while non-technical management develops the strategy. But this is no longer enough – to develop a data strategy that truly creates value, organizations require domain expertise at both ends of the spectrum.  

When it comes to consulting firms and systems integrators, we feel there is a gap in the market. Most data firms prioritize technical talent and systems infrastructure expertise, but often lack the operational mindset that is required to develop and execute a data strategy.

To get the best of both worlds, it’s imperative to find a data partner with practical experience in business operations, that understands the strategic levers that drive performance, and appreciates just how complex and difficult data integration and transformation can be. At the same time, a data partner should also possess the technical expertise that empowers organizations to capture, build, and maintain the data infrastructure with leading edge software.

We launched Fastloop to help organizations use their data to its fullest potential. We combine the operator’s mindset with deep technical expertise to transform data into impact. Our unique fusion of technical and business expertise reveals powerful acuities to maximize your data for optimal operational efficiency and profitability today and into the future.  

If you’re looking to build a world-class data strategy that propels your business growth, reach out to us today.

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