3 ways startups can become ‘business intelligent’

Data is a vital asset for companies and plays a key role in many decision-making processes.

Case in point, a survey conducted by Forrester Consulting this year found that data-driven firms are 58% more likely to achieve revenue goals and 162% more likely to surpass those goals significantly, as opposed to their less data-savvy peers.

It’s obvious then that the ability to use data effectively can go a long way in driving an organization’s growth. The key to doing this: implementing business intelligence processes.

Empowering workers with business intelligence

Business intelligence, at a very broad level, refers to the use of software and services to turn data into actionable insights to drive decision-making in a company.

“It enables business people to access data without having to write code and allows users to interact with data to drive business performance,” says Cindi Howson, chief data strategy officer at business intelligence analytics provider ThoughtSpot.

According to Howson, implementing such strategies helps drive performance across all aspects of business, such as through increasing revenue, boosting operational efficiency, understanding employee performance, and managing inventory.

Cindi Howson, chief data strategy officer at ThoughtSpot / Photo credit: ThoughtSpot

Traditionally, business intelligence was squarely in the domain of analysts. However, modern approaches to the strategy empower people across all levels of an organization to use data to do their jobs more effectively.

A recent report produced by the Harvard Business Review in partnership with ThoughtSpot found that the new decision-makers in a company are actually frontline workers, such as nurses, salespeople, and bank tellers. A positive customer experience is often dependent on these people, as they are a customer’s first point of contact with a business.

According to the report, 87% of business executives surveyed felt that organizations would be more successful if frontline workers were empowered to use data to make decisions in the moment – something that business intelligence tools could be particularly helpful with.

For example, a financial advisor at a bank who has access to insights on spending habits and credit histories could provide more helpful and targeted guidance to clients.

Given the impact that using data can have on operations, it’s no wonder many companies are looking to implement business intelligence strategies into their processes. Here are three tips from Howson on how startups can do this successfully.

1. Understand what you need data for

This seems like a no-brainer, but it’s important to know what you want to do using data. Many business intelligence projects fail because companies try to implement them without a clear strategy in place and don’t have a concrete idea of what they want data to help them accomplish.

Startups need to ask themselves some questions: How can data help improve the business? What are the highest value use cases? What are the business outcomes that the company wants to measure and improve?

For Howson, companies need to have answers to these questions before they even begin looking into business intelligence tools and software.

“Think about the use cases with the most business value. For example, if you’re in the finance space, things like credit risk and customer loyalty are important use cases where business intelligence can help,” she says.

2. Have the right data strategy in place

Having decided on the relevant use cases, companies then need to implement the right data strategy – that is to figure out how to go about collecting, using, storing, and integrating data into the firm. .

Photo credit: Startup Stock Photos / Pexels

While this may seem simple, poor data collection methods often lead to low-quality data, which in turn affects the kinds of insights a company is able to glean.

In order to develop a good data strategy, there are three components businesses need to keep in mind: what the data is meant for, how it is collected and stored, and how it will eventually be used and accessed.

Businesses also need to ensure that they adhere to regulations around data protection so they can safeguard the privacy of their customers and workers.

3. Create a data-driven culture

Lastly, startups need to make using data a key component of how they work, ensuring that data drives their decision-making and features as an important part in their processes.

One way to do this, according to Howson, is to “make data part of your product.” It’s a strategy that ThoughtSpot applies in its own operations – the company uses MixPanel, a product analytics program, to understand which of its features customers use the most and to figure out which aspects of their platform could be improved on.

That said, companies may face the challenge of convincing employees to take the leap. Despite the benefits of using data, many workers are afraid of it, and poor data literacy skills mean that many of them don’t know how to use data effectively to drive their work.

Businesses can tackle this problem in various ways. Leaders, for one, need to ensure that they work with staff across all levels when developing and implementing business intelligence strategies and that they lead by example, using data to back their decisions.

Companies can also upskill their workers through data literacy courses and workshops, as well as tap into the variety of business intelligence tools that make using data less daunting. ThoughtSpot’s platform, for instance, enables users to derive new insights from data through a Google-like search interface that makes accessing such information straightforward and simple.

Driven by data

Business intelligence, and how it helps companies utilize data effectively, has an important role to play in driving the growth of a company.

Leaders need to work together with their teams to develop comprehensive business intelligence strategies that serve a purpose and help leverage data to deliver tangible benefits to the business.

As long as companies keep sight of what they want to achieve with data and have a clear strategy in place, becoming “business intelligent” will go a long way in empowering workers and driving better decisions in an organization.

ThoughtSpot is a business intelligence and big data analytics platform that helps you explore, analyze, and share real-time business analytics data easily.

Find out more about ThoughtSpot on its website.

This content was produced by Tech in Asia Studios, which connects brands with Asia’s tech community. Learn more about partnering with Tech in Asia Studios.