How to Better Analyse Data to Boost Your Business

When you run a business, you need to be taking steps to gather and analyse data. Otherwise, you will never be able to determine the best ways to improve and grow your company. Of course, with more data than ever that is accessible to us, it can be very difficult to know where to begin. So, you need to implement a proper data analysis methodology so you cut through the vast amount of data out there to draw clear and concise conclusions. Here are five steps that you need to take in order to do this.

Define Your Questions

First of all, you need to come up with some questions that you want to answer. Rather than vague queries, they need to be clearly measurable. The data you gather should either back up a hypothesis or disprove your theory so you know it is time to go down a different road. So, you may ask if your digital marketing campaigns are having the desired effects or if you can let go of any staff members without damaging your business service. Ultimately, the questions will be based on your own individual priorities.

Set Your Measurement Parameters

In the first instance, you need to decide what you are measuring. For example, you could be looking at where visitors to your website are clicking to it from. You then need to work out how you will be collecting the data and also how you will be measuring it. Think about your time frame, your unit of measure and any other factors you can think of including.

Collect the Data

Now is the time to actually collect the data. You need to be organised and methodical in your approach. Before you collect any new data, work out whether or not there is existing information that you should be starting with. It may be the case that you are gathering the data through observation or interviews, so make sure that you have the questionnaire prepared beforehand. Organise your collected data as you go along so things don’t get confusing.

Analyse the Data

After you have collected the data, the time has come to analyse it. There are plenty of data analysis tools out there which can give you a helping hand so check out Cloudstream Partners if you are looking at Tableau as a potential option. Of course, the classic option is Microsoft Excel, but you need to be confident that you know exactly what you are doing when using it. Having proper training can help you out enormously in this regard.

Interpret the Results
The final stage involves interpreting the results and drawing conclusions from them. Remember that you are not aiming to prove hypotheses true; you can only fail to reject them. Ask yourself whether the data answers your original question. Then, ask if there are any limitations to your conclusions and if there are angles you have not yet considered which you could investigate in the future.