Data analytics is a key tool for achieving competitive advantages in today’s businesses. It helps organizations make informed decisions, improve marketing campaigns, drive website traffic, and better retain customers.
The first step in the analytics process is to gather and prepare the necessary data. That includes data profiling and cleansing, as well as ensuring the data is accurate.
Descriptive Analytics
Descriptive analytics is the most basic form of data analysis. It focuses on delivering useful information for business decision-makers.
This type of analytics enables businesses to compare their own performance against similar companies and industry trends. This is particularly valuable for measuring performance against key business goals, such as sales revenue.
This method uses historical data to answer purely descriptive questions, and is usually the first step in an overall business strategy. It is commonly used alongside predictive and prescriptive analytics to help companies reach their goals and objectives.
Predictive Analytics
Predictive analytics is a branch of data analysis that uses statistical algorithms and machine learning techniques to forecast future events. It allows businesses to adjust where they use their resources, improve operational efficiency, reduce risk, make strategies based on facts, and ultimately gain a competitive advantage.
Healthcare is a great example of where predictive analytics can be used to improve patient outcomes. It can help doctors and healthcare professionals make informed decisions based on patients’ medical history, demographics, and comorbidities.
Despite these benefits, some risks remain when using predictive tools. These include algorithm bias and lack of regulations. In order to minimize these risks, it’s important to involve doctors and clinicians in the algorithm development process. This will ensure that the software is designed to address their needs.
Prescriptive Analytics
Prescriptive analytics uses data and probability-weighted projections to predict outcomes and offer decision options. It builds upon predictive and descriptive analytics and uses machine learning, modeling, simulation, heuristics and other methods to make specific recommendations for actions that can improve future outcomes.
It also helps companies create more relevant products and services for their audiences. For example, businesses can use prescriptive analytics to determine which types of content their audiences respond to best.
In addition, prescriptive analytics helps organizations minimize risks by monitoring and managing risk exposure. For instance, an airline could use prescriptive analytics to automatically alter ticket prices and availability based on weather conditions, fuel costs and customer demand.
Data Aggregation
Data aggregation is the process of collecting, storing, and analyzing data from multiple sources. The goal of data aggregation is to provide business leaders with the information they need to make informed decisions.
Aggregating data can be done manually or through software expressly designed for this purpose. Typically, data aggregation platforms take care of the collection and processing, while also establishing an audit trail through tracking of sources and origins.
When it comes to marketing analytics, data aggregation is an essential step in the process. It helps streamline marketing insights to BI tools and provides analysis-ready charts and graphs that give marketers more understanding of their campaigns.
Forecasting
Forecasting is the process of estimating future trends in data, using past and present information. It is a critical component of analytics, and it helps you to make data-informed decisions.
Forecasts can be based on both time series and cross-sectional data, and they are often made using formal statistical methods. However, they can also be based on more judgmental or less formal techniques.
Forecasting is a useful tool for businesses because it helps them plan how they will operate in the future. It helps them avoid potential pitfalls, prepare for unavoidable challenges, and optimise processes to maximise profits.