Most people are not quite sure of how business analytics works. This makes it hard to know when it is appropriate to look to business analytics for answers. Here are brief descriptions of each step in the business analytics process. It's actually pretty simple, at least in concept!
Phase 1: Find and clean the data
All business analytics solutions start with your existing data. The first step is to locate and obtain the data. For several reasons, this can be a frustrating and time-consuming effort. For example, we often must search for the data. Frequently, it is spread out over different computer systems in different departments. Or, several different people may need to approve the release of the data. (It takes time to help people understand why they should share their data, and frequently top-level management must do some encouragement on this point.) There may also be some technical work needed to export the data in a useful and appropriate format. The MAG team has a lot of experience in dealing with all these challenges.
In addition, we nearly always discover "junk" in the data. We must remove or correct such "garbage data" so that it does not distort later results. And, when data come from different functional systems, we must organize the data so we can import it into an specially-designed analytics database.
The fancy names for this first phase is "data hygiene", "data standardization" and "data normalization." For more details, look at Data Hygiene: Database Bullets to Dodge, one of the "how-to" guides in our library.
Phase 2: Scrub out duplicates...
The next step is to remove duplicated records from your data. These can be customers, products or even transactions. This step is not trivial! Nevertheless, it almost always provides immediate payback. Take a look at List Processing: The Fastest Way to Boost ROI, to learn why. Rediscovered Customers Boost Sales Fast....tells a success story about what an improvement it can make. Only after the data are clean and scrubbed of duplicates can we then move on.
Phase 3: Try "Fast and Easy" first...
Remember the "80/20 Rule?" Over our years of experience in many industries, we have found that this rule applies almost universally. Sometimes it even seems to be a "90/10" or a "95/5" rule! This means that usually, the simplest tools provide some of the greatest and fastest benefits. So. we always start our analysis by looking first for easy-to-find opportunities to improve performance at low cost.
Changing Course Saves The Day is a client success story showing how effective this approach can be. Here are links to the reports that show you how to...
- Clean disruptive "garbage" out of your data.
- Find and fix duplicated customer information.
- See where your customers and sales come from.
- Discover the ways your customers are alike -- and not.
Phase 4: Solving your #1 Problem...
As soon as your data are clean and organized, we create a Management Analytics Database. This is the foundation for each of the analytical tools we use. After fixing the easy and obvious problems, we apply a variety of specialized analysis tools to dig deeper, depending upon the nature of your "#1 Problem." Our client success stories include many examples of how these tools help you to...
- Improve customer retention.
- Boost follow-on sales.
- Avoid wasting money on unprofitable customers.
- Set optimal advertising budgets.
- Objectively measure the success of your campaigns.
- Determine the asset value of your customer base and predict future profitability
- Select the most cost-effective advertising media.
Phase 5: Putting money into the bank...
As soon as we uncover a solution to your #1 problem, we show you what we've discovered and explain it in plain English. Then we go on to help you put money into your bank by applying and using what we have discovered We do this with telephone conferences scheduled at your convenience..
Phase 6: Promoting your #2 Problem...
Once we create your business analytics database, keeping it updated is important for two reasons. First, it's been said that as soon as you solve your "#1 Problem," you automatically promote your "#2 Problem." By keeping your database refreshed, we are prepared to tackle the next problem that you want to solve.
Second, it is important to measure the success of our analysis, our recommendations and your progress in using what we've discovered. Doing this confirms whether your investment in business analytics was a good one. It also provides valuable feedback about how to stay on track as things change.
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