5 Simple Yet Effective Data Management Practices For Small Businesses

This post is a guest contribution from Owen McGab Enaohwo, CEO and co-founder of Sweet Process.

Companies that use data effectively are able to shorten the long process of getting their products and services to the right customers. They save time, effort, and resources that boost the company’s profit margin in the long run.

Human resources experts in data-driven companies use data to determine the best fit for their key positions. Conversely, their business executive counterparts use data to reveal valuable market trends and forecast market stability.

According to Leftronic, 90% of enterprise analytics and business professionals currently say data and analytics are key to their organizations’ digital transformation initiatives. This means that data is crucial for solving key business challenges.

As a small business owner, ignore the myth that only multinational corporations need to implement data management strategies. The truth is, no matter how small or large your business is, you can use data to address challenges, find opportunities, and grow your business.

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In this post, you’ll learn five simple yet effective data management practices for your small businesses. Let’s begin with a look at several important considerations.

1. Create a clear data strategy

Understanding the type of data you want to leverage is as important as identifying insight from a given data set. How you want to collect the data, manage it, and where you want to store it is all pivotal information for developing a clear data strategy. There are different data types such as in-print, digital, or in-person. Others include text, image, or video format. Knowing the type of data you need is as important as identifying insight from a given data set.

How do you intend to collect data? Do you want your team to primarily go out to the field, or will you leverage secondary data collected via the internet? Ultimately, to have a clear data strategy, you must have a data management policy that directs your team on what and how data should be handled and communicated. Including this information in your strategy helps your team create a framework that drives more sales in the long run while making business decision-making more efficient.

2. Set up your data storage

Make sure you save your data on a platform that has a level of encryption. Because the amount of data you’ll be working on will increase as your business grows, it’s crucial to offer security and compliance. It’s also important to organize your data sets with an agreed-upon naming convention to allow team members to identify important information right when they need it.

3. Know how to work with and interpret data

Standing alone, data doesn’t make much sense. Analyzing the data collected in your niche market can help you identify problems and market opportunities. Proffering solutions to significant pain points and frustrations could provide a major turnaround for your business.

Relevant data can help you to formulate marketing strategies and bring ease to tracking and monitoring your customer behavioral patterns. That way, you can improve your services, products, and support. This analysis, combined with the right business policy, will allow you to share insights with other team members for informed decision-making.

Since cloud-based programs allow for data integration and data sharing, you’ll need to upgrade to such systems to create a competitive advantage and effective work process.

4. Identify the right timing for data usage

Working with data is simple. Knowing when to use data in decision making is essential. How would you feel if your innocent effort harms the company’s primary goals? This is why you should know when and how to use particular data.

It’s necessary to understand the implications of utilizing particular data trends in a given timeframe. Additionally, you should abide by all rules and regulations for data governance in your efforts to promote efficiency.

5. Have a data backup plan

Without proper data backup, there are high chances of bankrupting any data-driven company. If an accident happens with no backup, you’ll most likely lose your data for good or risk hefty penalties. Having a backup in place will save you from any unplanned event such as a breach or loss. Cloud-based systems for backing up data are crucial.

Final thoughts for small business owners

If you’re really prepared to utilize data in your company’s decision-making process, you must take data management practices seriously. A lack of ethical frameworks, diversity, and violation of privacy can land your company in trouble. However, if you create and abide by the terms of your expert-created data management practices, it will help you prepare for ultimate success.

Guest Contribution By: Owen McGab Enaohwo is the CEO and Co-Founder of SweetProcess; an easy-to-use and intuitive business process management software founded in 2013 that makes it possible for company executives and their employees to collaborate together to quickly document standard operating procedures, processes, and policies.