Most common data analysis problems encountered among entrepreneurs
A study compiled by CIMA makes it clear that as many as 86% of companies are struggling to process large amounts of data. To make matters worse, more than 30% of company representatives participating in the survey admitted that faulty analysis had negatively affected their revenue levels. Among the biggest challenges, they singled out problems with comparing data from several databases.
How to effectively analyze data?
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Determine the purpose of the analysis
In order to arrive at reliable information, we must first define the goal we want to achieve. Then we know exactly what data should be analyzed and what period it should come from.
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Analyze corporate data from various sources
Any entrepreneur who wants to have a comprehensive view of the company’s situation should use all available data – from CRM, accounting and marketing systems, sales, as well as those for customer relationship management or those related to logistics handling – for analysis. Data should always be analyzed with the appropriate context or specifics of the market in which we operate. Then even this seemingly worthless data can take on a completely different meaning.
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Assess the quality of the data you have
The dataset you have may be incomplete or contain duplicate records. As a result, any dependencies detected in them may turn out to be wrong. Therefore, special attention should be paid to the quality of the data and the reliability of its segmentation.
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Ensure the readability of the analyses performed
The final result of the data analysis performed should always be information that will be useful for further development of the company or making changes to existing operations. Therefore, focusing on answering the questions:
- such as,
- Where,
- When,
- why,
- why,
Instead of showing as many calculations, tables or graphs as possible, it is crucial here.
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Choose a modern system for data analysis – Microsoft Power BI
Wanting to analyze data correctly, it is essential to choose a system that will facilitate this task. Power BI from Microsoft gives you the ability to effectively analyze data in real time and visualize the data in the form of easy-to-read charts, which means better monitoring of progress toward your goals. Ongoing insight into the information allows more accurate business decisions to be made in almost every area of the company’s operations – in customer service, logistics, marketing, finance or sales.
