You may not think that your business is the type that needs to use data, but think again. Every business—large and small, in any given market—should be using data to help tailor their products and services to their customers. It doesn’t matter if you are a marketing agency or a cupcake shop; using data can help you rise to the top. Here’s why.

1. Data is more precise than intuition.

You cannot rely perpetually on your intuition. While data is precise, gut decisions are not. Data will complement your intuition and experience, and it will catch you up to—if not get you ahead of—your competition. Chances are, they are already using data and will continue to forge ahead, with or without you. You cannot afford to react to what is happening in your competitors’ businesses. Instead, make innovative decisions based off of your own data that will bring your company to the front of the race.

2. Data can transform your business.

If you invest in and learn how to use data properly, it can transform your business. Using data will give you new ideas about how to grow, as well as help you envision long-range innovations. Not only will using data help you create more effective strategies, but it will also make your work much more efficient and productive.

3. Data will help you target your consumer.

Data will help you figure out who you need to target in your marketing, your products, and your services. Who visits your site the most? Who purchases which products or services most often? Your data can answer questions about age, gender, ethnicity, education, and geographic location, among other details. Use these pieces of data to understand who your target audience is and what they want.

4. Data will help you set goals.

Gathering data can help you figure out where your business is at and where it needs to be. As you continue doing and improving your data collection and data analysis, you will be able to see changes over time. This will help you set specific goals within your company. Set goals around your revenue growth, number of sales, or total website visitors each month. Make sure to set realistic goals, but be sure they will also push you and your employees to work harder.

5. Data will get your employees involved.

Using data can help get your employees involved in innovation ideas. Share your insights with them and ask them for ideas in return based on of the data you have collected. The best ideas in a company often come from the employees, especially those who are closest to the actual work. Involve them in the process of gathering data and analyzing it. After all, they are the ones who are dealing with the product and customers every day. They may have other information that could be valuable to your business.

6. Your data already exists.

Did you know that a lot of your data already exists? All businesses collect data in some way—whether it be from a cash register, conversations, or customer behavior. Take advantage of this easily-gathered data by collecting information in different ways. Keep your eyes open, make notes, and track the patterns that occur in your business. While it can be expensive to gather data in other ways—especially for small businesses—you can find creative ways to track the things that are already happening.

7. Using data will improve your decisions.

You may be thinking that you don’t need to use data until your company has grown to a certain size. However, this isn’t true. The earlier you start to make data-based decisions, the better your decisions will become over time. Then, as your business grows, you can begin to collect and analyze more and more data over time. As you continue to base your decisions on data, the better you’ll become at managing your company or team and staying ahead of your competitors.

Start now.

Don’t wait until it is too late! Anyone can afford to use data, even if it is just a small amount of self-collected data. Though it might be overwhelming at first, Grow’s BI software is here to help. Track all of your data in an organized and easily-accessible location. Being able to view your data in real time will empower you to make the decisions that will transform your business.

‍