Business intelligence can help companies with valuable data resources to achieve business goals

Business Intelligence is a hot topic these days. Still, many business owners think that small businesses don't need to analyze their data. But for business intelligence for SMEs is crucial in order to maintain sustainable growth. The right data can help any size of business prosper in today's increasingly data-driven business world. There are endless benefits of business intelligence that spread across various business verticals- from customer service to research and development to sales and marketing.

What is Business Intelligence (BI)?

Many companies are using BI tools knowing what exactly they need from this, without knowing what it can really do. Business intelligence for SMEs basically extracts important insights from vast unstructured data & transforms them into valuable business information. Companies can use this information to make strategic decisions, optimize operational efficiency and enhance productivity. This information provides important insights into customer trends, buying habits, online shopping stats, etc. which can provide immense value to any business.

Business intelligence tools can help companies with valuable data resources which can be used to achieve business goals by taking strategic decisions. Various customer interactions in the form of a voice call, chat support, email support can be analyzed & measured by BI tools to understand customer preferences, purchasing habits, market trends, etc. Ultimately, all these data can be used to increase the conversion ratio.

Examples of Business Intelligence for SMEs

There are numerous ways to use business intelligence for SMEs, so your specific use case will mainly depend on your company's industry and needs. Some of the most common ways small businesses use business intelligence include:

• Analyze financial data to track revenue, profits, and other KPIs
• Analyze customer preferences and behavior
• Track sales and marketing performance
• Identify issues and bottlenecks in operations
• Identify which operations need to be optimized
• Identify trends within the business and in the market

This makes Business Intelligence (BI) a crucial tool in today's continually changing market scenario. BI tools help organizations to transform information into intelligence which in turn can fuel innovation and help organizations to leapfrog their competitors.

Business intelligence is viewed as a strategic initiative for businesses to step-change their performance. As SMEs have to continuously maximize production efficiencies for survival and growth or to face acquisition/consolidation by conglomerates, especially in the background of increasing cost of inputs (manpower, commodity, etc.), these challenges make business intelligence very crucial for SMEs.

Top Business Intelligence Tools for Small Businesses

One must use business intelligence in just about any area of your business where you want more clarity and transparency. But how can you make it happen without too much complexity?

Like with any tool you get for your business, focus your search on BI tools that are made with small businesses in mind – these are more likely to be a better fit for your company's specific requirements and budget, without forcing you to pay for features you don't really need.

Plus, according to various research, 74 percent of employees feel overwhelmed or unhappy when working with data, and more than a third of respondents would rather avoid using data to complete a task. Tableau, Looker, Cluvio, and more are the best business intelligence tools for SMEs that aren't just powerful but also make data analysis more accessible and help us reach key insights quickly.