Data is Essential for Any Business, but Especially Startups
It doesn’t matter what kind of business you’re involved in, you need the information to help solidify the venture. You need to know what data defines the market, and most importantly, you want internal data that reveals how effective the business tactics you use are. Following we’ll explore a few tools you’ll want to use to help you reach operational cruising altitude with your business.
1. Market Research Tools
You need to know what people think about you in the market, and you need to know what potential customers think about competitors. There are always market gaps, and when you know where you’re doing well, and where competitors outshine you, you can make up “the difference”, as it were.
So, for example, maybe you run a restaurant that sells Mexican food. Perhaps your competitor does the same, but with more “atmosphere”. The thing is, it takes longer for their food to arrive, and things are more expensive. At your restaurant, food gets there quick, and it’s less expensive, but there’s no atmosphere.
Market research software can give you data to show which direction the local market is trending. Maybe more people want it fast and cheap. Maybe fewer want the food in a fine-dining atmosphere at a higher price, but they’re willing to pay enough to justify the reduction in traffic overall. Data helps you determine which way to lean into going forward.
Here’s some of the best market research software to examine this kind of information. The link goes to software which analyzes written business reviews for you and competitors that help you identify where and how to optimize.
2. CRM Software
Customer Relationship Management software, abbreviated CRM, helps you manage outreach to clientele. With most modern businesses, there will be email correspondence. Once you have a customer plugged into your system, you’ll want to have emails sent out for promotions, as well as for up-selling.
CRM software helps you automate the process without appearing as though that’s what you’re doing. Emails can be drafted via AI, or templates can be put together depending on the software. Data is generated pertaining to how many people actually interact with your messages and the like.
Altogether, you have more data points to work with that help identify which customers are most profitable, which customers are more likely to upgrade services, and what sort of customers constitute your primary service constituency. This allows you to calibrate outreach to more effectively meet potential client profiles going forward. Accordingly, you’ll see more conversions.
3. Utilizing External Research Avenues
Another resource you’ll want is that which is publicly available. Pew Research Center conducts studies, surveys, and more that reveal market data. So also do groups like Living Facts, U.S. Census Business Data, Survey Monkey, Zoho Survey, Keyword Surfer, SEMrush, Google trends, and more—check out this link for a list of 21 external options like this.
You can find market data pertaining to your specific community and apply it to operations. Where you can find such data, you should use it to help support your new business. Almost half of all businesses fail within five years. For the most part, you’ll be dealing with marginal growth, so you need to protect that growth any way you can.
Setting Your New Business Up For Success
Whether you’re just starting out, or you’re a small business looking to increase profitability, data can be quite helpful. External research, CRM software, and market research software are fine ways to help you identify best practices going forward.
We are in the information age, and that means any data you can get for your business, you should get, and you should put it to good use.
