The big question… can you have information without data? What about data without information?
When you think about information in your business, what does that mean to you? Does it mean knowing the sales volume for last quarter? How about what your target customer wants to purchase in the next six months? Whatever information you are looking for in your business is almost always backed by data.
So, can you have information without data? The answer is no. You can certainly have lots and lots of data with no information. Example… you know that massive spreadsheet you have with 3,000 lines of data on it; what do you really know from that… do you have information to make better decisions for your business? Probably not.
Turn your data into Information; make a plan, set goals, and take action.
Make a Plan: Talk with leadership at your company and come together on the common goals. Once you agree on what you want to know, start mapping out how you’ll get there. Create data sets, meaning segment your data. Will you target customers, old customers, prospects, competitive users? You should also make a plan for how you want to consume the information. What reports, programs, or analytic tools can you utilize to get the best results? CRM tools are the top choice for data segmentation. Not only can you quickly put your data into usable buckets, you can then measure and take action with it.
Set Goals: When you have goals with your data, it creates more value around it. A goal example can be wanting to target the South East region with a new product launch. You will need information out of your data to tell you who your audience is, are they ready to buy, how do they want to receive your information, and will they be repeat customers. Another goal can be your sales teams quota. When you have information from your data, you can set clear and achievable goals because you have defined true market saturation in each territory.
Take Action: Set up dashboards in a CRM tool to show the trends and analysis of your data sets. Manage forecasts and quotas with real information that has the data to back it up. Harvest more detailed data with targeted marketing campaigns to build complete customer profiles. Arm your sales team with the knowledge to predict when a customer will be ready to buy so they can strike at the right time.
Above are just a few examples of how to turn your data into information and stay ahead of your competition.
Connect with a Simplesoft Consultant at 937-885-1204 or support@simplesoft.net.
Simplesoft Solutions, Inc. is a customer relationship management (CRM) business consulting and software development firm in Cincinnati/Dayton OH surrounding areas. We provide implementation, integration, development and training for Infor CRM. We have built our business on an ability to creatively adapt CRM to meet the varying needs of our customers’ businesses. We have been helping our customers develop stronger relationships with their customers through improved sales, marketing, customer service, and support processes since 1994.
