How data analytics can guide operational decisions

Mondo Technology Updated on 2024-01-30

Data analytics is a process that uses data to discover, interpret, and communicate valuable information, which can help businesses understand market demand, optimize products and services, improve customer experience, reduce cost risks, and enhance competitive advantage. Data analytics is an important basis and tool for business decision-making, which can help enterprises extract key insights from massive amounts of data to formulate more effective strategies and actions.

What is data analysis?What is the definition and classification of data analytics?

Data analysis is a process of using data to discover, interpret and communicate valuable information, which involves the collection, cleaning, sorting, analysis, visualization, interpretation and presentation of data, it requires the use of mathematics, statistics, computers, business and other multidisciplinary knowledge and skills, it also needs to combine specific problems and scenarios, and adopt appropriate tools and methods to achieve the desired purpose and effect.

Data analysis can be categorized based on different dimensions, such as:

Depending on the type of data, it can be divided into quantitative and qualitative analysis. Quantitative analysis refers to the analysis of numerical data, such as revenue, sales, click-through rate, etc., which can use mathematical and statistical methods such as mean, standard deviation, correlation, regression, etc., to describe and infer the characteristics and patterns of the data. Qualitative analysis refers to the analysis of non-numerical data, such as text, images, sounds, etc., which can use methods such as text analysis, image recognition, and speech recognition to understand and interpret the meaning and sentiment of the data.

According to the ** of the data, it can be divided into internal analysis and external analysis. Internal analysis refers to the analysis of the data generated or owned by the enterprise itself, such as financial data, production data, sales data, etc., which can help the enterprise understand its own operation status and performance, as well as find its own strengths and problems. External analysis refers to the analysis of data obtained or purchased externally, such as market data, competitive data, social data, etc., which can help enterprises understand the external market demand and competitive situation, as well as discover external opportunities and threats.

According to the purpose of the data, it can be divided into descriptive analysis, diagnostic analysis, ** analysis and recommendation analysis. Descriptive analysis refers to the basic summary and display of data, such as calculating the distribution, frequency, and trend of data, which can help enterprises understand the current status and history of data. Diagnostic analysis refers to the in-depth exploration and interpretation of data, such as analyzing the causes, impacts, and associations of data, which can help enterprises understand the logic and mechanism behind data. Analysis refers to the future estimation and simulation of data, such as the use of data rules, patterns, algorithms, etc., to change and result of data, which can help enterprises understand the future and possibilities of data. Recommendation analysis refers to the optimal selection and suggestion of data, such as using data evaluation, optimization, decision-making, etc., to recommend data solutions and actions, which can help enterprises understand the best and optimal data.

What is the use of data analysis?What is the meaning and value of data analytics?

Data analytics has many uses, mainly to guide business decision-making, so as to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, competitiveness and innovation of enterprises. The significance and value of data analysis can be understood from the following aspects:

Data analytics can help enterprises understand customer needs and behaviors, so as to optimize product design and service quality, improve customer satisfaction and loyalty, increase customer conversion and retention, and expand customer scale and value. For example, Amazon leverages data analytics to provide customers with personalized recommendations and offers, which increases customer purchase intent and repeat purchase rates.

Data analysis can help enterprises understand the dynamics and trends of the market, so as to formulate reasonable pricing and strategies, increase market share and share, increase market revenue and profits, and seize market opportunities and advantages. For example, Walmart uses data analytics to adjust the ** and ** of products according to different regions and seasons, which has led to increased sales and profit margins.

Data analysis can help enterprises understand the situation and strategies of competitors, so as to formulate effective competition and cooperation plans, improve the strength and level of competition, increase the advantage and margin of competition, and resist the threat and pressure of competition. Starbucks, for example, uses data analytics to select the right stores and products based on competitors' locations and characteristics, thereby increasing brand awareness and loyalty.

Data analysis can help enterprises understand internal processes and efficiency, so as to optimize the allocation and utilization of resources, improve the quality and efficiency of production, increase the cost and risk of production, and create production value and innovation. For example, GE uses data to analyze, monitor, and improve equipment reliability and maintenance by analyzing data to monitor and improve equipment performance and failures.

How to use data analysis?What are the methods and steps of data analysis?

How to use data analysis is mainly based on specific problems and goals, using appropriate methods and procedures, so as to obtain useful information and insights to guide business decision-making. The method and steps of data analysis can refer to the following process:

Clarify the problem and goal: This step is the starting point and direction of data analysis, which requires a clear problem and goal of data analysis, that is, what questions to answer, what purpose to achieve, what needs to meet, what difficulties to solve, what effects to achieve, etc. This step can be carried out by asking questions, defining the scope, formulating hypotheses, determining indicators, etc., for example, if you want to analyze customer satisfaction, you need to ask questions about how to measure and improve customer satisfaction, define the customer base and time period for analysis, formulate hypothetical factors that affect customer satisfaction, determine the evaluation indicators of customer satisfaction, etc.

Collect and clean data: This step is the basis and premise of data analysis, which requires the collection and cleaning of data related to the problem and goal, that is, what data to obtain, how to obtain it, how to deal with it, etc. For example, if you want to analyze customer satisfaction, you need to collect basic customer information, purchase records, feedback and other data, obtain it from the internal system or external channels of the enterprise, use appropriate tools and formats to obtain the data, and perform operations such as deduplication, missing value processing, outlier processing, and format conversion.

Collation and analysis of data: This step is the core and key of data analysis, which requires collating and analyzing the collected and cleaned data, that is, what methods to use, what analysis to do, what results to get, what hypotheses to verify, etc. For example, if you want to analyze customer satisfaction, you need to group, sort, summarize, filter and organize the data, use charts, maps, dashboards and other visualizations, use regression, clustering, classification, association and other modeling, and use association rules, frequent itemsets, keyword extraction and other mining.

Interpreting and presenting data: This step is the purpose and result of data analysis, which requires the interpretation and presentation of collated and analyzed data, that is, in what way to use, what content to say, what advice to give, what effect to achieve, etc. For example, if you want to analyze customer satisfaction, you should use text, charts, animations, etc., to tell the current situation, changes, reasons, and impacts of customer satisfaction, and give suggestions and measures to improve customer satisfaction, so as to achieve the effect of persuasion and guidance.

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