🖊 This article was last updated on September 22, 2020
As a business leader, you’ll need to make a lot of crucial decisions. Some decisions might be small, such as deciding whether you’re going to work from home or the office one day.
Other choices are a lot more significant, like deciding when you need to hire extra talent for your team or outsource important tasks.
People usually develop better decision-making skills over time. The more you learn about your business, your customers, and your industry, the easier it will be to make choices that lead you in the right direction.
However, if you need extra support while picking the right routes for your business, technology could be the answer.
In the past, business owners had to rely on experience, instinct, and guesswork to make decisions. The wonders of technology now make it a lot easier to ensure that you make decisions suitable for your entire business venture.
Let’s see how you can improve your process with tech.
Step 1: Collecting More Data
The best decisions are “informed” decisions. The more data you have to help you make a choice, the more you know you’re moving in the right direction.
It’s much easier to access the information you need these days than ever before. The sheer amount of information that managers need to work with daily is impressive compared to what they needed to work with a few decades ago.
Merely having tons of data isn’t enough to make your organization successful. Today’s business leaders also need to ensure that they’re using the right information correctly.
It’s not just the collecting data that’s helpful for a team, it’s what you do with that information, and how you use it to access meaningful insights.
Think about what questions you’re trying to answer with your information. If you want to know how satisfied your customers are with your service, you need to look at client feedback, response times in your contact center, and similar metrics.
In the same line, using software to collect and analyze data on sales can help you prepare for seasonal dips or surges. Does your business spike during the holiday season? Would it make sense to hire extra help or stock up on supplies beforehand?
Using the right technology tools will help you to bundle data into the right categories for more meaningful decision making.
Step 2: Stay Accurate and Unbiased
The great thing about technology is that it doesn’t have a bias. Your marketing software isn’t going to tell you to choose one campaign over the other because it “likes” the creative. Through accurate data and insights, your tech will show you which strategies are going to lead you towards your objectives, and which options may lead you astray.
Because you can cross-reference data and run the same scenarios with tech multiple times, it’s much easier to get accurate information.
On the other hand, when you’re making choices on your own, you’re subject to the constant problem of human error. There’s always a risk that you may interpret a fact or number wrong.
Technology allows you to put any biases or issues you might have aside. We all have preferences sometimes, and it’s not always easy to know for sure whether they’re leading us in the right direction.
However, working with cold hard facts, numbers, and metrics ensures you don’t succumb to unconscious biases that could diminish your efforts.
Step 3: Learn From Everything You Do
Technology doesn’t just make it easy to figure out what you should do in the first place. The right tools will also help you to learn from the decisions you make.
For instance, if you’re running two different marketing campaigns, and you decide to use one in your action plan because of your marketing data, you can learn from the results.
Your tracking and analytics technology will show you what kind of outcomes you’re getting from your campaigns. You may also be able to go back and run the other campaign with a similar audience to see how both options measure up.
Consequently, you might decide that a particular action is not worth wasting resources on, so you can skip it altogether in the future.
The right technology shows you which steps to take to achieve success. However, it also allows you to learn from your failures and successes as you go.
Naturally, you become more informed and educated over time. This provides you with a unique learning process that enables you to instinctively make better decisions in the future.
Step 4: See The Bigger Picture
If you want your business to grow, you need to be able to spot a lot of minor opportunities for improvement that could have a major impact on your business. But if you’re a solopreneur, it’s not that simple to spot these opportunities right away.
That’s where technology can help as well. For example, using CRM software, you can gather insights into your customer service strategy and what it takes to make your clients happy.
It’s also possible to use software solutions to access information on sales campaigns, and how you’re generating the most ROI.
Technology helps you to see the connections between the different things you do to manage a successful business.
For instance, you might notice that a faster response rate on your website through a chatbot increases the time visitors spend on your site. This reflects positively on your SEO, which in turn generates better visibility and brand awareness, resulting in more sales.
Knowing how every aspect of your business ties in with other areas can help you make better decisions on what you need to improve to enhance your service.
Step 5: Ensure Profitability
Finally, running a profitable business isn’t just about choosing the right products or services to offer your customers. You also need to ensure you’re getting the best return on investment for your company and reducing unnecessary expenses wherever possible.
Tech solutions, like asset management software, can help with analyzing data about your business assets. It enables you to see how often your team members use specific hardware and equipment to complete their jobs.
If you notice that you have to postpone projects because a particular asset is not available, then it makes sense to invest in another piece of that asset.
On the other hand, if some assets just sit around collecting dust, you might decide to sell them and earn some extra cash for your business.
You’ll be able to better schedule your team and plan new projects when you have a clear overview of what you have, where it is, and how it’s used.
Asset tracking and management tools can also reduce your risk of losing or breaking critical equipment because you can track who’s using each tool. This means that you spend less of your hard-earned money on losses.
The more money you can save on your investments, the more you can put into helping your business to continue its growth.
Making Decisions with Technology
While many entrepreneurs argue that gut instinct and intuition are crucial parts of the decision-making process, data and insights are essential too.
In a world where you can collect data on virtually everything your business does, it’s wise to use that information to your advantage. The more insights you collect, the easier it will be to make informed choices about where your business should be heading.
Just remember to listen to your team and your emotions too. Data will help you to make more accurate decisions about what’s next for your company, but there’s room in your business for personal insight too.
The key is learning how to balance both aspects in a way that’s helpful for your team.
Additionally, always double-check to ensure the information you get from your tech is accurate. Remember that tools can sometimes face errors too – although it’s less common with tech than it is with people.
- How to Make Better Business Decisions Using Tech - September 22, 2020
Great post! Technology has certainly revolutionized the way we approach business decision-making. Here are some actionable tips that could help readers make better business decisions using tech:
Embrace data-driven decision-making: Utilize data analytics tools to gather and analyze data on consumer behavior, market trends, and other key metrics. This will help you make informed decisions based on real data instead of gut instincts.
Automate repetitive tasks: Automating repetitive tasks such as data entry, invoicing, and email follow-ups can save time and reduce the risk of errors. This will allow you to focus on more critical tasks that require human interaction and creativity.
Use project management tools: Project management tools such as Asana, Trello, and Monday.com can help you streamline your workflow and increase efficiency. These tools can also provide valuable insights into team productivity and project progress.
Take advantage of cloud-based solutions: Cloud-based solutions such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and Microsoft OneDrive can help you access important files and documents from anywhere and on any device. This can increase collaboration and speed up decision-making processes.
Invest in cybersecurity: Cybersecurity is a critical aspect of modern-day business. Invest in security software, firewalls, and encryption to protect sensitive data and prevent cyberattacks.
By embracing technology and incorporating these actionable tips, you can make better business decisions and drive growth for your organization.