Business Analytics Doesn’t Have To Be Hard. Read These 6 Tips

If you’re a business owner or manager that is looking to understand your customers better, then Business Analytics can help. Business Analytics is the process of looking at raw data and turning it into something valuable. It’s a bit like mining for gold in a river. Business Analysts work with many different types of information in order to figure out what the numbers mean and how they might affect future business decisions. [As you can see from this article, there are different angles for writing about this topic]

Business Analytics doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, understanding some basic terms will lay the foundation for more advanced learning further down the road. Here are six tips that will get your journey started on the right foot.

1.) Understand The Difference Between Big Data And Business Analytics

Business Analytics is not the same thing as Big Data. Think of it this way: Big Data is data that has value, but you don’t necessarily know how to use it yet. Business Analytics turns this data into insight so that you can make more effective business decisions. It’s all about applying statistics and analysis to your raw data in order to draw conclusions and determine a course of action.

Here are some examples of tasks that fall under Business Analytics:

– Using social media metrics to maintain an active online presence

– Analyzing web traffic reports from Google Analytics or another web analytics tool in order to understand which marketing strategies are most successful

– Determining which customers should receive a promotional offer based on a series of different variables

– Tracking email click-through rates to determine which type of content resonates most with your audience

2.) Choose The Right Software Program For Your Business

There are hundreds of software programs out there built for managing and analyzing business data. In order to figure out which one is right for you, ask yourself the following questions:

– What kinds of reports do I need? Do I need help determining ROI from my marketing campaigns? Are there specific metrics that I want to track in relation to my sales revenue? Do I want reports on how many people visited our website and where they went while they were there?

– How much control do we want over our data? Some programs allow us to customize what we want to see and how we want to analyze it. Others provide canned reports that can’t be manipulated.

– Does my team need to collaborate on projects? Some programs allow multiple users access while others are designed for one person at a time. [You could insert some examples here]

3.) Business Analytics Isn’t Just For People With Advanced Degrees

One of the best things about Business Analytics is that almost anyone can get involved, regardless of their background or education. You don’t need a degree in mathematics or statistics to become a business analyst. In fact, many businesses hire people with backgrounds in fields such as marketing and advertising because they understand their customers’ needs and have experience tracking metrics related to campaigns and promotional efforts. Here are just a few examples of the types of people who typically make good candidates for Business Analytics jobs:

– Social media managers and strategists

– Marketers, advertisers, and public relations professionals

– Web analysts and developers

– Statisticians or data scientists with strong business acumen

– Existing employees who are willing to learn how to work with data more effectively. These are often professionals in non-analytical fields such as customer service who want to keep their skills sharp for when they’re ready to take on new challenges.

4.) Find A Mentor Or Coach To Help You Develop Your Abilities

It’s hard to know where you should focus your efforts when it comes to learning Business Analytics. Are there certain programs that would be best suited for your needs? What kinds of reports do you need to create and how can they help your team achieve its goals? Who is the best person on your staff to manage a project? You don’t have to answer these questions alone.

Asking for help from someone who has been there before is one of the most important things that you can do as a business analyst. There are several ways that you can find mentors or coaches:

– Look for someone in your current company with Business Analytics experience whom you already know and work well with

– Ask a business colleague what types of data they look at regularly and how it helps them make decisions

– Take online courses through sites such as Tuts+ Business Bootcamp  that will teach you the basics of Business Analytics

5.) Develop A “Predictive” Mindset

In many cases, Business Analytics is more about predicting future trends and behavior than it is finding concrete facts. For example: a retail store might want to predict how much revenue a promotion will generate so that they can create a plan for maximizing profits. In order to develop this predictive mindset, ask yourself what types of data you have on hand and how it could be used to test different theories or make projections. Here are just some examples of predictive scenarios:

– What aspects of my product line do customers usually buy together? Do I need to carry complementary items in order to maximize sales? If so, which ones?

– Which promotional offers have the highest conversion rates? How can I apply this information to future campaigns?

– What online activities do customers engage in after making a purchase? Where are they going and what are they doing there?

6.) Learn From The Beginners

Many people who are just starting out in Business Analytics tend to rely heavily on Excel for their data projects. While Microsoft’s spreadsheet software is extremely versatile, it isn’t always the best tool for the job. Even though Excel was originally designed as a simple accounting program, many of its users have found ways to bend it to their will. This takes time and hard work (especially for those with limited math skills), but can be very rewarding over the long run. If you’re looking for an alternative way to perform Business Analytics that’s more intuitive and easy to use, check out Tableau. This visualization tool allows you to quickly build stunning reports that are very simple for non-technical users to understand.

In addition, you should check out Google Analytics or go to salesforce migration to gain a better understanding of how your website is being used. This will help you identify which pages are getting the most traffic and what type of content is most appealing to viewers.

It doesn’t matter if you’re still learning the ropes or have years of experience under your belt — Business Analytics can