In 2020, the average person created roughly 1.7MB of data every second. Businesses today have access to more information and data than ever before. Digitalisation has allowed modern businesses to draw and store enormous amounts of data across a range of digital platforms… but how many of them are actually using that data to their advantage?
The buzz and interest around data science have led many to agree that data is worth its weight in gold. However, we’d argue that without interpretation and actionable insights, data is nothing more than numbers and huge files. How can businesses make sense of the data they have, and better still, use it to spot opportunities that keep them ahead of the competition?
The best way to unlock the business value behind your data is with proper data science. Here are some of the core reasons why your business needs data science to thrive and grow, and why your competitors might already be looking into it.
You can understand your customers better than ever before
Gaining and retaining customers lies at the core of a healthy and successful business, no matter the industry. Having a clear understanding of who your ideal customer is, and how they operate, is essential to growing your customer base. However, it’s essential that understanding your customer is backed by hard facts, not just intuition. Data science lets you take your customer insights one step further, providing ways to combine information across interactions and transactions to help you understand who your customers actually are and how they behave. Often in ways you might never have recognised before.
As you start to understand who your customers are and how they behave, you can use that knowledge to shape your offering to cater to your audience better than ever.
It helps you make better products and services
Successful businesses recognise that all great products and services have two things in common: they solve problems and create value for their consumers. However, even with the best possible understanding of your customer, unless you’re collecting data about how they use your products and services, you’ll never be able to reach your potential.
Technology businesses are typically data-rich and generate reams of structured and unstructured data. However, identifying the key opportunities within that data is a bit like mining for diamonds: the most valuable insights are often hard to find, buried deep below the surface.
This is where data science comes in. By applying data science principles, you begin to unlock opportunities to enhance your product, and more importantly, solve more problems and create even more value for your consumers. What does this mean for your business? You can focus your efforts more efficiently on areas that matter most to your customers, reduce the risk of products not meeting the needs of your market, and cement your reputation as an innovative, dynamic business.
It improves organisational decision making
The best decision-makers are no strangers to risk. After all, understanding the risks and rewards behind a decision is key to making it correctly. However, data science has the power to give decision-makers an unfair advantage, and significantly mitigate high-stake risks through predictive analysis. By simulating potential outcomes and scenarios, data can be leveraged to empower decision-makers through information.
This in turn can translate into strong and reliable leadership which promotes trust within the organisation.
Data science needs to be done correctly or it’s a waste of time
While data science can introduce a host of opportunities and solutions, it is crucial to ensure that the foundations for the project are solid before you rush into commissioning code. From assessing the quality and availability of data to ensuring that there is enough capacity and collaboration to support a data science project, we can spot hindering or even detrimental pain points which may determine the project’s success.
Find out how quickly you can get value from your data with our Data Science Readiness Report. You can also get in touch with our team to book a free consultation.
