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The Importance of Data Visualization for Spearfish, SD Businesses

The phrase ‘data is the new gold’ holds true for multiple reasons. With the increase in the use of social media, cloud computing, and other digital technologies among individuals and companies, the sheer amount of data created each day is staggering. Naturally, businesses that learn to read, analyze, and utilize this data will create a significant competitive advantage over others in the industry. Hence, as a business, learning the ins and outs of data visualization is the need of the hour, and this article from the Spearfish Area Chamber of Commerce will help you do just that.

 

The Basics of Data Visualization

Data visualization is one of the key aspects of the field of data science. In data science, various analytical techniques are used to draw insights from large data sets, which are then utilized to make important decisions in all spheres of business. Businesses can use data to manage risk, better understand customer behaviors, streamline operations, and much more. The process of understanding these insights is simplified by data visualization. For instance, if your boss were to give you a table with 1000 rows or an image of a pie chart summarizing the information of the table, which would be easier to analyze? The answer is the table.

 

But not all datasets are the same, and they need to be represented in different ways. Using data visualization applications, one can present the data in the form of:

 
  • Line charts

  • Scatter Plots

  • Bar Charts

  • Interactive Maps

 

As reported by Guru 99, the New York Stock Exchange generates around one terabyte of data daily. Facebook generates more than 500 terabytes of data in the same timeline. Both these figures are topped by data generated by the aviation industry, which is accounted for in Petabytes. As seen through these numbers, the need for data visualization exists in all industries.

 

Benefits of Data Visualization

Here are three ways data visualization can benefit your business:

 

Validate Market Trends

 

Based on interactions with customers and experience in the niche, employees can draw certain assumptions regarding current market trends and customer behavior. These assumptions will then be used to shape business strategy and future goals. Creating a strategy based on incorrect assumptions can harm the business and lead to it underperforming compared to competitors. These assumptions can be validated by referring to visualizations created using big data available for your niche.

 

Communicate with Stakeholders

 

Customers, employees, investors, and shareholders are the prominent stakeholders of any business. As reported by Seed Trace, to build and maintain trust, it’s important to be transparent with your stakeholders regarding your business. In addition to announcing earnings by sharing financial statements once a year, data visualization can be used in presentations or internal communications.

 

Find Operational Inefficiencies

 

Data collected from CRM (customer relationship management) software, invoicing tools, digital marketing tools, and more can be used to create visualizations representing the performance of each department. Reviewing these graphs will provide a clear idea of areas where the business is lagging and the corrective measures to be taken.

 

While you may be gathering these data and using visualization to help your team make improvements, there are many ways you might want to report this information to other stakeholders in your operation. You may want to provide annual reports to donors or sponsors, or give quarterly updates to employees across your business operations. These reports may require converting your data visualizations into PDFs. You can pull these images from current generated reports and put them back into a coherent package. A quick way to add a page is by using a PDF editing tool. You simply place the file you want to edit into the drop zone, select where you want a new page to be added, and upload that new file to create the report your stakeholders need to see.

 

Data Visualization Tools

Accuracy plays a key role in whether your data visualization efforts will be successful or not. While there are various tools on the market, they often require a certain level of expertise to use correctly. Hence, consider a data analyst who can undertake the responsibility of creating visualizations and in the long-term train other members of the staff to do the same. Here are some of the best tools to consider:

 

Facebook Ads Visualization

 

This is a tool created by Facebook to help businesses that run ads visualize their performance data in just a few clicks.

 

Zoho Reports

 

While Zoho primarily is a CRM, it includes the functionality to create visualizations. In addition to data generated by the business, you can import data sets at will and convert them into visualizations. 

 

Dundas BI 

 

This is dedicated visualization software that can handle large data sets. In addition to creating visualizations, Dundas BI can be used to clean, edit and model data sets as per your needs.

 

Data Visualization Tools

Whether it be to create better product offerings, grow the business, or improve customer service, making decisions based on data visualizations will ensure you an informed decision in the best interest of the business. It’s important to share these illustrations with your stakeholders, too, including your employees, investors, and even customers. Many people are choosing companies and products over their ethical practices, so showing how and why you have made particular decisions in support of an ethical goal can go a long way in building your customer’s trust and commitment.


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