Software vendors have elevated their offerings across the board, including features like generative AI and low-code automation standard in their software suites. Not only that, but many vendors are reducing prices, as well, and presented businesses with the ability to scale their spend with growth.
As such, it won’t be difficult for small businesses to secure access to analytics software—and they really should. It may sound premature for a nascent business, even solopreneurs, to lean into analytics so early in existence. But, with the right analytics backbone, companies can stand tall within the industry and smoothly adjust operations to keep up with competition and an ever-changing landscape.
Analytics software has come a long way; in its current form, it’s easy to use, provides invaluable insights, and grows alongside the company to offer more advanced guidance. Here’s more on what the software means for small businesses and how it can be used to full effect:
Introduces New Career Opportunities
The advent of analytics software first required specialists, who would calibrate the software to collect the right data and synthesize the results into actionable insights. These data scientists were not only in short supply but commanded massive salaries due to their specific skillset.
No more. While data scientists have their place in enterprise-sized companies, small businesses can benefit from robust intelligence without hiring anybody new. Modern analytics software can be built on a low-code platform to enable anyone to take full advantage of the technology, no matter how much technical training they’ve received. This is of particular importance to team members who require high visibility and don’t have the time to learn a whole new skill: HR, marketing, sales, and upper management spring to mind. At a small business, those may all be the same person, too, whose time is thinned within an inch of its life.
When looking for a software package upon which to run their company, small business owners should consider a unified system that includes low-code analytics software. This way, any data fed into any end of the system will remain accessible within every app, where it can be analyzed and translated easily and guide future business decisions. Plus, with the help of AI and automation, new data can immediately be woven into the system and encourage immediate and essential pivots in strategy.
Low-code analytics software can yield unexpected career benefits for employees, as well. Those in small businesses may not have been exposed to the work of a data scientist or used analytics software in the past, so exposure might encourage them to think about going into the field. It happens all the time—growing a business requires adaptability, and once an organization outgrows its “small” status, there will come a time when specialization is at a premium. What better way to slot into a data scientist-type position than to maintain lots of prior experience in the field? It’s in this way that small businesses can support career development and offer something even larger businesses don’t always have on tap.
Increasing Adoption
Of course, none of the above benefits are of any use if nobody uses new pieces of software or adjusts their way of working. It’s imperative that small businesses put together a strategy for introducing new software to their team, even if that team has only a few members.
One method for consideration is for small businesses to deploy software to the most skeptical team members first. Let them see the sorts of data analysis they can perform and how that knowledge can elevate the work they’re already doing. These employees can be encouraged to try and break the software, as well, by feeding it bad data or slicing-and-dicing the existing data until there isn’t much left. Demonstrating resilience will likely convince these employees that the right piece of software can unlock more of their potential, and their proselytizing can help sway other holdouts.
Companies can also reduce the software’s scope at the beginning. They might choose a single task, something that has been giving employees headaches, and demonstrate how access to analytics can make everyone’s lives easier. Consider the duty of logging hours spent on projects. Sure, it can feel superfluous and distracting, but companies can show how this important data can help employees prioritize their time, or certain customers, more than others, resulting in further gains and growth. Get them onboard for one thing and it’s more likely their curiosity will keep them engaged.
Which sorts of data will be the most beneficial? Put together a plan for its continued collection and how those insights will be used.
Start the process before a company chooses a piece of software or a vendor, even if it turns out that what it’s looking for isn’t available as a feature.
Having conversations with software providers can, at least, plant the seeds for future features and can help guide the tailoring of whichever solution they end up choosing.
It may also help companies realize what they actually need and what is more of a “nice to have” that they can do without.
Dashboard Confessional
To benefit from modern, low-code analytics software, employees don’t even need to work directly with the technology, either.
Once analytics software gains a foothold in a company’s unified CRM, it can push its output to employees’ personal dashboards, a familiar screen that’s configured just as the employee would like it. This ensures employees won’t have to remember an additional step when performing work, and they’ll be using the most up-to-date data at any given point.
These dashboards also included the ability to run complex calculations instantly, enabling employees to determine their own KPIs and plan for upcoming trends—of particular importance for small businesses with a slimmer coffers. Alongside AI-enabled analytics software, the information can easily be interpreted for the employee, as well, and associated tasks can automatically be created.
It’s in this way that the right analytics software package can effectively double a company’s workforce—a digital assistant embedded in a dashboard with which employees are already familiar.
Opt for Analytics
Small businesses can think of analytics software as effectively doubling a company’s workforce—a digital assistant embedded in a dashboard with which employees are already familiar, providing statistics and guidance to grow a business organically. However, just as a company might introduce a new team member, it has to think about how best to bring analytics into a workflow that may not have considered it before.
In fact, these small businesses may be showing its employees a new career path entirely—one that will benefit the company in the long run.
This article, "Analytics Software is a Small Business Essential" was first published on Small Business Trends
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