Data Analytics: 6-Step Checklist for Startups
When you’re starting your own business, it’s a thrilling time in your life. You have your dream at your fingertips, and you’re ready to make it a reality.
Still, there are a lot of mini and major details to take care of before you can open the doors to your new place, either figuratively or literally. Data analytics often gets overlooked because there are so many things to juggle.
This part of the startup process is essential to make your roll-out efficient. The information collected in data analytics gives you the information you need to guide each step. Marketing, customer service, and product selection are easier when you have data backing your decisions.
Not sure how to get started? Use this 6-step checklist to create a framework for data analysis in your startup.
Step 1: Know Your Goal
What are you trying to answer with the data you’ll have in front of you? Knowing this goal will help you eliminate the unnecessary parts of data collection. Start with what you must have to set up the framework and get started, then bring in more pieces as you familiarize yourself with the process.
Step 2: Get Everyone to Agree
In a startup, you’ll be tasked with appeasing a variety of people. These decision-makers likely have the final say when it comes to spending money out of the budget. Data analytics isn’t always cheap, but using the right data analytics solutions provider is an expense that more than pays for itself with the information you receive. Because of this, it’s a common part of the business plan in most startups.
Step 3: Make the Most of What You Have
Free is always good. What tools do you have access to that you can start using? For instance, Google Analytics is part of almost every business’s toolkit. It doesn’t take long to set it up to link to your CRM and offer you some superficial insights. With info like how your customers are buying, upselling, and returning, or how your sales team is doing, you have more knowledge than you realize.
Step 4: Get Real With Your Abilities
When it comes to mining data and analyzing it into minute pieces, how capable are you? Do you have the equipment and software to get the job done? More importantly, do you have the time in your busy schedule? You may have the knowledge, but hiring someone or using an SaaS platform may be the most cost-effective way of handling the analytics portion.
Step 5: Be Focused, But Flexible
You have your goals, and you’re adding more regularly, and knowing what key performance indicators you want to track are the key. The second part of that involves flexibility. As you’re evaluating the results of a certain analysis, you may realize that something else isn’t working or has the potential to grow. These growth metrics should be flexible and evolving.
Step 6: Consider Scalability
How will you use your analytics system to scale your company? Right now, the framework may be all you need for your current startup. But as you grow, will it be compatible with a growing complexity? You don’t want to have to start over from scratch when your business takes off and expands. Make sure what you’re using is scalable and compatible with most data analytics tools.