The Key Points of Advanced Analytics

Do you want to be at least 5% more profitable than your competition?

According to research by MIT, companies that inject big data and advanced analytics into their operations demonstrate productivity and profitability rates 5-6% higher than their peers.

Don’t let the hype of “big data” scare you. Using advanced analytics to gain insight was once something only enterprise corporations would attempt. However, it’s not this pricey and profound concept as it once was. As more tools become available, small businesses can also get a piece of the pie.

What is Advanced Analytics?

Think of advanced analytics as a step beyond the normal information you collect for your business. It’s about diving into the data and finding answers and clues to your next move. It can also be used to generate recommendations and make predictions about future business processes.

The techniques of advanced analytics include a wide array of tasks. There is no single technology that encompasses the whole concept. The following are some typical ways in which a company can apply advanced analytics to their operations:

• Data Management: The process of organizing high-quality information. This is where repeatable standards are established to maintain data quality.
• Data Mining: Examining big data to discover patterns. This information can then be used to solve complex business questions and challenges.
• Predictive Analytics: Using the collected data to predict future outcomes. Some of the most common applications for predictive analytics include risk management, operations, and marketing.
• Text Mining: Examining all text-based data to discover insights. Social monitoring is a form of text mining (mining customer data from social media) and can be done solely through automation.

Advanced analytics goes beyond the corporate agenda. It can be as simple as paying attention to what your customers are posting on Facebook and then changing your product launch. Beyond understanding what advanced analytics are, you should also comprehend how they apply to your business.

The Key Points of Advanced Analytics

There is a multitude of reasons why companies big and small take the time and money to look so deeply into the numbers. There are clear advantages to be had, like the following:

Customer Engagement

As consumers become more sophisticated and selective, the need to understand and engage them is critical to improving their experience. Advanced customer analytics allows a company to accurately predict a customer’s needs and provide them with what they want (perhaps even before they know they do). Creating that “Aha! I didn’t know I needed that!” moment for customers will set you far above the competition.

Building New Business Models

Rapidly changing market demands means the key to staying afloat is agility. Advanced analytics allows a business to exploit big data for powerful new processes. It takes it a step beyond business intelligence by supporting prescriptive choices and quantitively optimizing decisions. In simple terms, by predicting outcomes you can steer your operations faster.

Happier Employees

Applying advanced analytics to internal processes like HR allow a company to identify deeper insights about their employees. This information can then be used to make fact-based decisions that maximize performance and increase employee satisfaction. Driving performance improvement in this predictive manner means higher employee retention and productivity.

Keep in mind these are just a few key ways you can use advanced analytics with your business—regardless of size. Sometimes hype is hype for a reason. Studying big data is one of the best ways to ensure your future success and put you a step ahead of the competition.