January 2021 - Striven

Data-Driven Decision Making: A Guide To Working Smarter

We all have hunches. Whether it’s at work or at home, we often rely on our gut.

Sometimes, it points us in the right direction. (Yes, that person across the bar did in fact smile at you.)

Other times, it keeps us out of harm’s way. (Aren’t you thankful that you dodged that foul ball with almost no conscious effort?)

While your gut is a valuable resource in scenarios like these, it can often lull you into a false sense of security for those looking to translate natural, instinctive insight into the business world.

There will always be those special, gifted few. You know, the ones who are able to make sense of and intelligently act on overwhelmingly complex data sets using only their natural brainpower. 

There are exceptions to every rule. Always have been, always will be.

But when it comes to your business, don’t bet on the exceptions. Bet on data-driven decision making. Let’s find out how data-driven decision-making can help your business. 

What is Data-Driven Decision Making?

According to Northeastern University, data-driven decision-making can be defined as “the process of making organizational decisions based on actual data rather than intuition or observation alone.”

To break it down even further, there are two types of data that will be relevant to your business: quantitative and qualitative data. 

Quantitative data focuses on cold, hard numbers. Sales figures, employee turnover, and shipping costs are examples of quantitative data.

Qualitative data focuses on non-numerical data. Examples of qualitative data relevant to your business would include things like employee interviews, customer reviews, and the job satisfaction of your employees.

data funnel

Both are important, yet neither provides a complete picture of your business and how it can build and sustain future success. When successfully cultivated, categorized, and deployed, these two types of data sets can transform the way your business makes decisions. 

Why Data-Driven Decision-Making Is Important

Sticking to the data allows systems and their respective algorithms to be strong in areas where humans are notoriously weak—acknowledging bias and false assumptions. Computers remove the ever-so-fickle emotional component of decision-making that more or less defines our humanity.

By allowing technology to guide and assist you along your decision-making process, your business will reap tangible benefits. 

  1. Reduced spending – If your technology is able to guide you in a more innovative direction (i.e., making less of one product than others) then your process has already begun to bear fruit. Ideally, allow data-driven decisions to limit waste.
  2. Faster decisions – Instead of belaboring over a decision and arguing over fickle details as a deadline approaches, allow data to make the best decisions for you. When a decision is able to be backed by data, the more sound that decision will be. 
  3. On-the-fly improvements – One of the best—and often most belaboring—things about data is that it is always shifting. While this may seem tiresome at first, it serves a purpose. By having access to a continuous stream of up-to-date information, you’ll be able to adjust your projects on the fly based on the most accurate information.

How to Support Data-Driven Decisions

It’s one thing to acknowledge the importance of how data-driven decision-making can help your business, but it’s another thing entirely to act on it. So how can your business use data to its advantage?

Before this process begins, some housekeeping is in order—organized data is the best data.

Let’s start by running through a list of questions to ask yourself:

What goals do you aim to achieve from making data-based decisions?

Are you primarily focused on brand awareness or conversions? Is your goal to improve an existing product or to launch a new one? Are your efforts focused on customer retention or customer acquisition?

Where does your data come from?

Is your data reliable? Has it been cross-referenced and analyzed for its authenticity? Have you gotten input from all of the pertinent employees from different silos of your business? Beyond all of that, is your data secure?

In what ways, if any, are you able to universally and easily view all of your data?

Can your data be viewed in digestible formats? Do you have dashboards, charts, and metrics accessible from all kinds of devices? Can your data infrastructure adapt to your growing and changing business needs?

filing cabinet computer

If you feel that you haven’t adequately answered these questions, that’s ok. There are plenty of ways to keep your data organized and all in one place.

Data for data’s sake is only valuable for mathematicians and scientists. For the 21st-century business owner, data needs to be clear, concise, and actionable.

Data-Driven Decision-Making Examples

No matter the size of your business, your business generates data. Whether it’s customer financial data, employee feedback, or social media activity, business data comes in all shapes and sizes.

While all data is valuable and useful, not all data serves the same purpose. For example, datasets containing customer transaction history won’t necessarily help you build a better HR department. A car is a great method of transportation—until you reach the ocean.

Let’s take a look at how businesses big and small used data to drive them toward profitable decision making:

  1. Netflix’s Hyper-Specialized Content – As a pioneer of mass digital streaming, Netflix has a huge subscriber base. Now, you’ve probably heard people say “You can’t please everyone.” Well, Netflix has come awfully close. By analyzing scores of consumers’ watching habits, Netflix has been able to tailor content specifically to their target audiences. One of their first success stories using data to drive their decision-making? House of Cards.
  1. Google’s Project Oxygen – In 2008, Google embarked on an ambitious journey to figure out how to better scout and develop managerial talent. They sourced lots of data points—performance reviews, technical assessments, surveys, etc.—and came to the conclusion that there were 8 main points that led to managerial success. In this case, data enlightened us that “having key technical skills” was the least consequential managerial asset. Who knew?
  2. Horne Label Manufacturing Success – Data-driven decision-making isn’t just for mega-corporations. Horne Label, the largest manufacturer of custom labels and tags in North Carolina, realized that they needed to work smarter. Feeling unorganized and limited by their current methods, turned to the help of a trusted ERP to improve their processes. By taking advantage of the streamlined automation and virtual dashboards now at their disposal, Horne Label was able to cut order input time by 50%. Beyond that, they can now view their data from anywhere, on any device. 

Your Data Is Unique

Every business has data, but only your business has your data.

It seems like an obvious point to make, but for some businesses, it’s not so clear. In our copycat culture, companies and business leaders are always aiming to replicate the success of their peers and competitors. This is great in many ways—the best innovations and ideas are often directly sourced from older, less fleshed-out concepts. But in other ways, it’s detrimental.

Instead of looking at the insights and profit margins that have come from large corporations analyzing their data, it’s best to look at how and why they did it.

Rather than asking “What kind of success and profit did their data analysis generate?” you should ask yourself why they chose to analyze data to begin with, and how exactly they went about parsing it. 

With all kinds of data solutions out there, it’s important that you choose the right one for your business. But one thing is for sure—data-driven decisions are the best decisions for your business. 

Striven Hosts #MFGHour: Keeping Your Digital Office Organized

A special thanks to #MFGDay organizers CVT Plastics, DSCS, Inc., and Social Success Marketing and to everyone else who spent the day chatting with us on Twitter about manufacturing!

The topic: Organization is key. The importance of keeping an uncluttered physical workspace is apparent, but have you been able to tidy up your desktops and data storage systems too? In today’s fast paced environment, it’s important to have accurate, complete, and organized information at your fingertips at all times. Time spent searching for lost files, sifting through duplicate spreadsheets, and hoping old hardware and software will somehow begin to run faster will take a toll on your businesses efficiency, and in effect, your bottom line.

File Organization

striven MFG hour Q1

“My computers are squeaky clean. I keep a very neat and well-organized file system too. I find a tidy work environment, both physically and digitally, makes for better productivity. It’s a code I live both, both and work and in my personal life.” –Foxmere Technologies

Believe it or not, I began working on this project in mid-December and ran into a little snafu when my external drive had a mechanical problem. It’s certainly a timely question. #USAMfgHour” – Felix C. Nater, CSC

I start but then I get sidetracked. I really do need to do it though. #USAMfgHour” – DCSC, Inc.

Striven’s answer: When working on a project, I try to set up my organization’s infrastructure ahead of time (file locations, team member coordination, etc.) Since I’m only human, I like to take a look at the end of each week to make sure everything is neat and tidy.

Old Technology

“Your guess is as good as mine. I would like to think somewhere around 5 years old. Still runs well though! #USAMfgHour” – Crescent Software, Inc.

“A client of mine in the technology space changes their computers every two years. #USAMfgHour” – Ruby of Social Success Marketing

“Well, since we all are working remotely and have laptops, they are brand spanking new. We got to pick what we wanted! #USAMfgHour” – Dar-Tech, Inc.

Striven’s answer: The average age of an office computer in 2020 is about 4 years. Converted into human years, that’s pretty old. In fact, it often costs businesses more money to keep their outdated computers than it would be to replace them with newer models.

Workplace Efficiency

striven MFG hour Q3

“We use 5S and other lean management systems. We are such fans that we have free guides and infographics to help others use it easier.” – Graphic Products

“We visit this every week at our staff meeting. We ask the question: How can we do better than last week? It works! We typically find 1-2 things we can make more efficient. #USAMfgHour” – Dynamatic

“I look at things I do all of the time and how long it takes to do those things. If I can find ways to shorten the time, I do whatever I need to in order to cut out wasted time.” – CVT Plastics

Striven’s answer: A method that I practice regularly is to assign tasks to employees and groups of employees. Some tasks take a day, some take a month, and some may not come to fruition until years down the road. Setting goals and sticking to them leads to optimal efficiency.

Organizational Skills

striven MFG hour Q3

“Organization is a huge asset. It helps keeps the entire company working efficiently. We do have a written organizational system in our Company Policies and Procedures document. #USAMfgHour” – NJMEP

“I place a huge priority on organization. When starting a project, I set folders up that I will need to keep everything in proper order. When adding to the project or if I need to reference something at a later date, I know exactly where to go. #USAMfgHour” – RICO Manufacturing

“Organization is key for me and I guess I’m kind of a perfectionist about it. I really am quite organized even though my answers today are appearing that I’m not. I am always striving for better! We are in the process of writing policies for organized data.” – Obsidian Manufacturing Industries, Inc.

Striven’s answer: For me, it’s a huge priority. When someone shows extreme attention to detail, it really demonstrates how much they care about their work. In software, it’s huge. In manufacturing, it’s even bigger considering how many moving parts there are in any one organization.

Employee Feedback

striven MFG hour Q5

“I talk to myself…make a few notes then discuss it with my co-director. By the time we have finished, we’ve had some great outcomes. When dealing with clients we guide their facilitation. #USAMfgHour” – Nigel T. Packer, Pelatis

“We are supported by a good IT department off campus, and we have a dedicated IT person in the office. #USAMfgHour” – SpaceGuard Products

“This is where deep business empathy plays a huge role. Understanding the needs of the business and partnering to meet those needs. When people with strong technical skills add that perspective, they have a tremendous impact.” – Dondi Scumaci, Best Selling Author & International Speaker

Striven’s answer: I always let my staff know that their opinions are welcomed, there’s no such thing as a bad suggestion. Innovation is messy, ideas should always be flowing. Employees can talk to their immediate supervisor as well as request an IT support ticket from the appropriate party.

Achieving More

“Me. I’m in the way of myself. I’m the bottleneck in my business so I will have to find a way to scale. #usamfghour” – Jen Wegman, Insight Information Solutions

“What a great question. #1 Build the best sales team. #2 Money has always been something standing in the way.” – SCTools

“From a personal point at work I want us to grow (I’m working on that) become more efficient (capital investment for new machines, software & training), and be the local “go-to” for CNC machining! #USAMfgHour”- Neil Hussey, TruTurn Precision Engineering

Get the Most Value From Your Users with Continuous Onboarding

I know you’ve heard the saying: first impressions are important.

And I’ll sound lame saying this, but I couldn’t agree more!

Every product I’ve used, every platform I tried to adopt, every video game I played, and every business I became a part of— what determined whether I would stay was their first impression on me, which is established through user onboarding.

What is User Onboarding?

User onboarding is the most important part of a user’s journey, the part where they are introduced to your product and they make the decision to continue with your business… or not.

You are familiar with walkthrough videos on products, hours of introduction sessions to platforms, and mostly boring tutorials in video games; they are all meant to onboard you to the product.

But what happens once a customer or employee completes the onboarding process? When they have done all the tasks on the onboarding checklist and have reached their “Aha!” moment? Should it stop there? No way!

User onboarding must be an ongoing task for every business in order to increase retention and eliminate churn. 

Which brings us to the question:

What is Continuous User Onboarding?

Continuous User Onboarding refers to not ending the onboarding of a user after their initial “Aha!” moment, but to continue it throughout their lifetime.

After your users are successfully onboarded for the first time and become a fan of your business, whether they are employees or customers, they may not stay that way forever. The great relationship each have with your business will diminish over time.

This is where continuous onboarding rushes to your aid. By onboarding your users again and again, you keep them at their success status as a fan.

The aim is to assist users to repeatedly find new value within your offering. A successful onboarding process helps users advance further by revealing what is more beneficial for them.

Promoting new features for an existing user is a great example, as you will be able to encourage them to achieve more with your product.

Why Should Your Onboarding Be Non-Stop?

Onboarding illustration

Onboarding is not a task that can be accomplished just with a pretty-looking interface design or an interactive product walkthrough.

You need to be there for your users each time they are in need and put forward the next cool feature to increase the value of your product. Your onboarding should never stop mainly because of one single reason: to increase the Lifetime Value.

An increase in the Lifetime Value can be seen via changes in 4 other metrics.

Increase Product Adoption

As your users reach success through onboarding, they will increasingly enjoy the experience you offer.

Each time they complete a task, they will like your platform more.

Also, as they learn your product well and add it to their arsenal, your product will become indispensable.

Therefore, non-stop onboarding after the initial onboarding process will boost your product adoption rate.

Improve Your Retention Rates

Keeping your users happy will help you to improve your retention rate as well.

As your users adopt your product and achieve success without experiencing errors or examples of bad UX, they will come back for more!

Encourage Upsells and Expansions

How can you earn more from customers?

In order to acquire a considerable amount of increase in revenue by upsells and expansion, you have to sell more than the product your users have already bought/subscribed to.

If you keep successfully onboarding users, they won’t hesitate to buy more products and features from you.

Eliminate Churn

Churn Rate

91% percent of users will churn rather than trying to fix their problems with your business.

They will choose the easy-way-out strategy over waiting for you to fix their problems. This is highly dangerous for every business— your inability to decrease churn can signal the end of your success.

Therefore, it’s best to act before your users churn. You can always evaluate the data from your onboarding processes and come up with a solution to the problems they are experiencing or improve your onboarding process overall.

How Continuous Onboarding Can Be Applied to your Business

So now we know what it means to onboard users continuously and why you should adopt such a method, we need to learn how.

I have come up with three ways to apply continuous user onboarding to your business right now:

1. Be There When They Need You

You have to be there when they need you!

a. When they want to reach out to you for help

So a user of yours is stuck with your product, doesn’t know what to do and requests help.

This is the biggest chance to onboard a user once again. They are far from the path to customer success they need to be on and you need to onboard them again onto this path.

What you should do in this case is to offer self-help centers, conversation portals, and interactive guides so they can easily solve their problems by themselves.  

b. When they don’t know they need you, but they do

The other case is, you might be sure of the stage of their journey your users will struggle with and help them once they get to that stage.

customer retention graphic

Some of the good user onboarding or CRM tools help you establish action-based processes so that you can keep contacting the user at the right place and time throughout the user lifecycle.

In these cases, you can identify and fix the pain points of the users related to the product or you can make sure they have what they need when they need it.

2. Highlight Features and Updates

Highlighting a new feature or the latest update is a must-do for all SaaS and other businesses.

To increase user engagement and improve feature adoption, you have to set guides or checklists that help users explore the brand new iteration of your new product.

3. Offer Valuable Content

Along with helping your users explore the value of your product over and over again, you can try to provide them with additional value.

This value may range from an article related to your audience’s interests to a detailed guide on how they can use your product or service more efficiently.

Conclusion

You can’t ignore the fact that user onboarding never ends, so what will you do about it?

If you keep offering value throughout a user’s journey, they will be onboarded again and again, until they become promoters of your platform and stay for the long haul.