Your dream is that your business succeeds under all conditions. Therefore, you must plan right. But how can you ensure that you are setting realistic objectives that will take your business to greater heights?
Data mining is your ticket to building out a map to business growth. It allows you to look beyond the gains accrued from the sale of your products. It also helps you model other sources of revenues from offering new financial services to your clients or potential marketplace.
So how can your business’ data help build a more sound and effective business plan for growth?
- Setting the people plan. The staff of any business is crucial to its success, but how well do you understand their performance? Data can help you build out a better people plan and enable you to provide accurate feedback to staff based on the information from the products and services available.
- Know your strengths and weaknesses. When it comes to building out a map for growth, many business owners will immediately think SWOT. The irony is that most business owners base a SWOT analysis on their perceived knowledge and not their business’ rich and unwavering data. Analysing your revenue strengths and your potential weaknesses maybe easier than speculation based on client feedback. More importantly, numbers are unapologetically honest, meaning your revenue data will accurately reflect your business’ strengths and weaknesses allowing you to drive the strategy for future opportunities and possible threats.
- Keep it fresh. Business planning continues throughout the business life. Therefore your business plan needs to be very flexible and adaptable to any changes, which may arise along the way. Rigid business plans do not work well, especially where you are determined to grow. Dynamic business planning does not stop the moment you get the clients and you start earning revenue. You need to analyse the market through dynamic data analysis. Your own data should be your first point of call when discussing financial, operational and strategic planning. This will ensure that everything that runs in the firm is tailored towards accomplishing the goals of the business.
Data doesn’t lie and will force you to face up to the reality of the business. There will be failures, there will be wins, but without a sound understanding of how your business ticks, you will never achieve your goals. The revenue data may just be hiding the key to building the dynamic business plan and your future success.
Graham Chee is the director of Revex Solutions. Revex is able to help manage the day to day and ongoing process of revenue and fee management for the dealer group, financial planning practice and individual adviser.
