Growing your business requires a strategic business plan guided by informed decisions that focus on growth and improvement. This is where digital analytics come in.
Digital analytics provide insight into your customers and their behaviors by helping you parse out the most important pieces of information from the vast amounts of data you collect each day. The right analytics strategy allows you to develop a clear and informed plan of action based on what is and isn’t working in your business.
We spoke with six experts about their best tips for leveraging digital analytics for business growth.
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Set realistic goals and objectives
To make the most of your business’s ever-growing collection of data, Omer Usanmaz, CEO and Co-Founder of Qooper, suggests setting realistic and achievable analytics goals.
“Having an achievable goal helps the business set measurable milestones and track progress in order to measure success,” said Usanmaz. “It also allows the business to make informed decisions about which digital analytics initiatives should be prioritized.”
Start with ‘plug-and-play’ tools and graduate to more complex solutions
You don’t have to use complex tools to start tracking your company’s digital analytics. Instead, Janet Casey, President and Founder of Marketing Doctor, Inc., recommends starting with a less complex solution to gain an understanding of what metrics matter most to your business, then upgrading when/if necessary.
“The ‘plug-and-play’ approaches of most tools are an easy, accessible way to launch into analytics,” Casey explained. “Once you outgrow the basics, talk with digital experts who can help you level up with more custom, tailored data tracking for better business insights, and ultimately long-term sustainable growth.”
Prioritize your most important business KPIs
There are many key performance indicators (KPIs) that can be tracked with digital analytics, depending on your particular business needs. That’s why Roy Yishai, CEO of Wish Maker AI, believes it's important for a business to determine what KPIs are most important for them and hone in on them. Otherwise, your business may find itself overloaded with digital analytics data that isn’t relevant or impactful toward your business’s goals.
If your data isn't clean, you are at risk of building your conclusions on erroneous and inaccurate data, which will lead to subpar outcomes.
Anton Konopliov, Founder of Redline Digital
“By identifying and focusing on a few KPIs that align with your business goals, you can streamline your analytics efforts and make sure you're getting the most valuable insights,” said Yishai.
Establish a consistent data collection and tracking strategy
Tracking and analyzing data is most effective for businesses when they follow a consistent tracking process and schedule. Inna Shevchenko, Head of Marketing at Coupler.io, said looking at the patterns and trends that emerge can provide necessary insights for data-driven decisions.
“Identify which tools and platforms you will use to collect data, and ensure that they are properly configured to track the metrics and data points that are important to your business,” Shevchenko told CO—. “It's also important to set up processes for regularly reviewing and analyzing your data, and for sharing findings across your organization.”
Always use clean data
Anton Konopliov, Founder of Redline Digital, advised businesses to only use clean data in their analytics programs, meaning data that doesn’t contain incomplete, duplicate, and incorrect information.
“If your data isn't clean, you are at risk of building your conclusions on erroneous and inaccurate data, which will lead to subpar outcomes,” said Konopliov. “For instance, it can cause you to spend money on efforts that aren't well-targeted or to utilize the incorrect names in personalized email messages.”
Take action based on your analytics insights
Your analytics insights should guide your business's actions, said Derrick Kwa, Paid Media Manager at Pink Orange Media. If the data isn’t pointing you toward any actionable next steps, then it may be best to focus elsewhere.
“Focus on actions you can take,” Kwa noted. “You look at different stats and think, ‘that’s interesting.’ But ultimately, unless the data can guide you towards an action to take — whether it’s a next test to do, a change in your processes, or even if the action is just to keep doing what you’re doing — it’s not helping your business.”
[Read more: 10 Website Analytics Tools for Your Business]
CO— aims to bring you inspiration from leading respected experts. However, before making any business decision, you should consult a professional who can advise you based on your individual situation.
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