The Essential Data Your Business Needs to Fuel Innovation -Written by: Ed Carter of ablefutures.org

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You’re flooded with information all the time, every day. Despite this onslaught of data, though, finding the information you need can be tough — especially in regard to your customers. You need to know basic facts about your clientele in order to effectively serve them, but finding this information is difficult — if not impossible — if you don’t have the right tools in place to collect it. Small and mid-sized businesses can combat this problem by taking a cue from big data and collecting information whenever possible. You need to know what data to look for, though — and how to use it. 

Take it to the Edge Marketing shares some insight on the importance of data management below:

Using Client Demographic Data Many small and mid-sized businesses make the mistake of catering exclusively to the coveted 18-34 demographic. Indeed, this group may be one of the most lucrative populations to connect with, but if your clients skew older, you’d be missing out on valuable profits.
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Age isn’t the only important factor. Strikingly notes that many other aspects of your clients’ demographic are just as important. Among these is their family status. Do your customers have spouses? Kids? Both or neither? When you gain insight into your clientele’s family life, you can better understand how they may use your products — which is valuable data.

How can these data points fuel innovation and purpose for your company? The more you know about your customers, the better you’ll be able to develop fresh new products to meet their needs. 

Using BPM to Manage Digital Processes
Big data isn’t incompatible with your small business — in fact, it can be one of your greatest assets. Integrate big data into your daily operations with software that collects valuable information and analytics tools that tell you how to use it. When it comes to managing your digital processes, business process management (BPM) can automate and optimize processes and workflows to clear the way for digital transformation. By streamlining and improving previously tedious business operations, costs and errors are reduced, as are cycle times, all the while improving on efficiency every step of the way.

Overcoming the Challenges of a Small Business Big data is one of the most valuable resources you can rely on, but many small and midsized businesses struggle to leverage it effectively. The most common reason for this is the small sample size provided by your clientele. You can’t generate the same mass-scale insights that a Fortune 500 company can. Rather than viewing this as a weakness, though, it may actually be a strength.

According to research cited by Exploding Topics, 70% of data used by businesses is generated by clients. The small sample size of your customers allows you to better understand the exact niche of consumers that you serve. This, in turn, can help you develop tools to innovatively reach that niche. Investing in a mobile app, for example, may be prudent if your clientele is comprised primarily of people in their teens and 20s.

Other innovations such as time management tools and machine learning give you the power to curate a completely innovative experience for your customers — you just need the data to apply these tools productively. When you’re sharing this data with others, even if it is anonymized, it’s important to keep it secure and guard against cyber attacks. 

Using demographic data for growing sales and BPM for operational optimization are just a couple of the reasons why you need to invest in data for your own company. Doing so can help you provide clients with innovative new experiences, which will result in your business reaching that next level.