Every quarter our team analyzes the projects we work on with our 500+ PE firm clients to get a bird’s eye view of the market. We recently compiled our Q1 2023 findings into our BluWave Insights Report. You can request your copy and our client coverage team will be in touch.
Key findings from Q1 ’23 include:
Value creation activity is at an all-time high, matching Q1 2022.
Human capital remains PE’s primary area of focus at 45% of all Q1 activity, also matching an all-time high.
Technology remains a priority at 11% of all Q1 PE activity.
Employee management softwares – or human capital management systems – are a suite of applications that helps businesses automate and streamline their HR processes, from recruitment to payroll.
Streamlined automation. Embrace efficiency with modern employee management software that automates labor-intensive tasks such as payroll processing, benefits administration and performance reviews, saving time and resources while improving accuracy.
Seamless communication. Foster collaboration and engagement with robust communication channels offered by employee management software, including instant messaging, email and video conferencing, enabling smooth communication between employees and managers.
Efficient performance tracking. Stay on top of employee performance with comprehensive tracking features, including goal setting, performance reviews and feedback mechanisms, allowing managers to objectively evaluate performance and provide targeted support.
Effortless time-off management. Simplify time-off management with user-friendly features such as leave requests, approvals and tracking, ensuring employees take the necessary time off while preventing staffing issues.
Streamlined onboarding. Expedite the onboarding process with employee management software that provides tools such as employee profiles, training materials and onboarding checklists, helping new hires quickly adapt to their roles.
Effective benefits administration. Simplify benefits administration with features such as benefit enrollment, eligibility tracking and claims processing, ensuring employees have access to the benefits they need without administrative hassle.
Regulatory compliance made easy. Ensure compliance with labor laws and regulations with employee management software that offers features such as time tracking, payroll processing and leave management, minimizing the risk of fines and penalties.
Data-driven decision making. Empower informed decision making with employee management software that provides reporting, analytics and forecasting tools, enabling data-driven insights for optimizing operations.
Improved employee satisfaction. Boost employee satisfaction and engagement with features such as surveys, feedback and recognition offered by employee management software, resulting in a more motivated and productive workforce.
Enhanced talent management. Attract and retain top talent with user-friendly interfaces, mobile apps and social media integration offered by employee management software, ensuring a skilled and engaged workforce.
Efficient time tracking. Effectively manage employee hours, attendance, and overtime with accurate time tracking features, improving workforce management and payroll accuracy.
Streamlined employee relations. Foster a positive work environment with employee management software that offers features for tracking and managing employee relations, such as conflict resolution, performance improvement plans and employee feedback.
Reduced litigation risk. Mitigate litigation risks with employee management software that ensures compliance with labor laws, manages employee records and documentation and provides a clear audit trail of employee interactions, reducing legal exposure and protecting the business from potential lawsuits.
Features: The first step is to identify the features that are important to your company. Do you need a software that can handle payroll, benefits, recruiting and performance management? Or do you need a more specialized solution?
Scalability: As your company grows, you will need a software that can scale with you. Make sure to choose a program that can accommodate your future needs.
Ease of use: Employee management software can be complex, so it is important to choose a software that is easy to use. Look for one with a user-friendly interface and that is customizable to your company’s needs.
Security: Employee management software can contain sensitive data, so it is important to choose a system that is secure. Make sure to choose a software that has been certified by a reputable security organization.
Cost: Employee management software can be expensive, so it is important have your budget in mind. Make sure to compare prices and features before making a decision.
Situational Capabilities: You may need a software than can cater to your specific situation. For example, perhaps they need experience with unionized businesses. Be up front about that as you send out your RFPs and make your evaluations.
The “best” option is going to depend on your company, industry and exact situation. While we can’t choose one “best” software for you, here are some of the more popular cloud-based HCM systems (in no particular order) and a brief overview of each:
Workday is a human capital management software suite that provides a variety of features for managing employees, including payroll, benefits, recruiting and performance management.
SAP SuccessFactors is another HCM system suite that offers a wide range of features for managing employees, including recruiting, onboarding, performance management and compensation.
Oracle HCM Cloud is a suite that provides a variety of features for managing employees, including payroll, benefits, recruiting and performance management.
PeopleFluent is a software that offers a wide range of features for managing employees, including recruiting, onboarding, performance management and compensation.
Ultimate Software is a cloud-based HCM that provides a variety of features for managing employees, including payroll, benefits, recruiting and performance management.
Monday.com is a little different than the others in that its more commonly used for project management than tracking employee data. (Though you can use it for that, too.) It has a user-friendly interface and can be customized to your company’s needs. It’s also a cost-effective solution for businesses that need a cloud-based HCM system.
Are you ready to upgrade your HCM system, or perhaps implement one for the first time?
Private and public companies as well as private equity firms and their portfolio companies can all reap the benefits of choosing the right employee management softwares.
Fortunately, you’re not in this alone. The Business Builders’ Network is full of experts who have helped companies like yours with industry specific-decisions about their human capital management software.
If you’re ready to take the next step and want an exact-fit third party to accompany you through the process, from start to finish, contact our research and operations team.
We already know the best possible partners for your niche-specific needs, and we’ll connect you in less than 24 hours after our initial scoping call.
Knowing how to analyze sales data is a valuable skill that can be used to improve sales results. By tracking and analyzing sales data – concrete information about how your products or services are selling – you can identify trends, patterns and opportunities that can help you close more deals and increase revenue.
For example, you might see that your sales cycle is longer for certain types of customers. This could be because you need to do more research on them or because they are more difficult to close. Once you know this, you can take steps to improve your process for these types of customers.
Having this information is a great way to increase sales effectiveness and training. The more actionable data your team has, the better set up for success they’ll be.
An experienced third party that specializes in sales effectiveness and training within your specific industry can be a great resource for these situations.
To help you get a better understanding of your situation, let’s talk about the importance of analyzing sales data, how to do it and what steps you can take to improve your business’s process. Whether you’re at a private equity firm, a portfolio company, or a private or public company, you’ll benefit from being equipped with this overview.
Two common ways to track sales data are Customer Relationship Management systems and spreadsheet. The most important thing is to choose a method that works for you and your team.
As your company grows – or aspires to grow – a powerful CRM such as Salesforce or Hubspot will be a must. If you’re reading this article, you probably already have a CRM in place.
These platforms provide comprehensive tools for managing sales data, including tracking leads, opportunities, deals and customer interactions. You can easily input, store and retrieve data in a centralized location, making it convenient to extract meaningful insights.
A spreadsheet is probably only a good option for companies that are just starting out and have small sales teams. Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets offer basic functionality for organizing and analyzing sales data.
They allow you to create custom columns and rows to input sales data, and you can use formulas and formatting options to calculate totals, averages and other key metrics. While spreadsheets may lack the advanced features of a CRM, they can be a cost-effective solution for businesses with limited resources.
Regardless of the method you choose, it’s essential to establish a consistent and structured approach. This includes defining clear data entry processes, setting up regular data updates and implementing data quality checks.
It’s also important to define and track relevant sales metrics that align with your business goals, such as those mentioned in the previous section.
Analyzing sales data is a crucial step in understanding the performance of your business and identifying areas for improvement. One effective approach is to utilize various visualization tools such as charts, graphs and tables to represent your data in a visually appealing and easy-to-understand manner.
For instance, you could create a line chart to track the monthly trend of leads generated, allowing you to quickly identify patterns. If you notice a decline in the number of leads over time, you can take proactive measures to address the issue. For instance, you could revamp your marketing strategies, optimize your website for better lead capture or invest in targeted advertising campaigns to boost lead generation.
In addition to visualizing data, statistical analysis can provide valuable insights into sales performance. For example, you could conduct regression analysis to identify the key drivers of sales, such as the impact of pricing, discounts or promotions on sales volume.
By analyzing the statistical significance of these factors, you can make data-driven decisions.
It’s also important to compare sales data across different time periods, geographical regions or customer segments to identify any variations or patterns. Sales may be down from Q4 to Q1, for example, but up year-over-year.
If Q4 is traditionally your strongest quarter, there may be no need for concern. In fact, it’s probably worth celebrating the increase from the same period in the previous year.
Getting more granular, if you notice that sales tend to dip during certain months, you can strategize accordingly, such as by offering special promotions during those periods.
This information and more can help you tailor your sales strategies to better meet the needs and preferences of different customer segments or regions.
Once you’ve analyzed your sales data, you can use it to make decisions about your strategy. For instance, if you observe that a specific product or service is underperforming, you may consider discontinuing it or revising your marketing approach.
On the other hand, if you identify a product or service that is performing exceptionally well, you may want to allocate more resources towards its promotion or expansion.
You can also use sales data to make decisions about your sales team. By analyzing individual sales performance data, you may identify trends or patterns that highlight areas for improvement.
For example, if a particular salesperson consistently struggles with closing deals, you may consider providing them with additional training or coaching to enhance their skills. Alternatively, you may identify high-performing sales team members and recognize their achievements to motivate the rest of the team.
Sales data is not just for you. It’s also important to share your data with your sales team so that they can use it to improve their performance.
There are various ways to do this. For instance, you can create a shared spreadsheet or database that is accessible to all team members, allowing them to view and analyze data in real-time. This promotes transparency and fosters collaboration, as team members can collectively track progress, identify opportunities and take appropriate actions.
Another option is to send out regular reports that summarize key sales metrics and performance indicators (KPIs, or OKRs) to your team. These reports can be delivered via email, shared on a team communication platform or posted on a shared drive for easy access.
In addition, holding regular sales meetings or performance reviews where sales data is discussed and analyzed can provide opportunities for team members to provide input, share insights and collectively brainstorm improvement strategies.
It’s essential that the sales data shared with your team is presented in a clear and understandable manner, with relevant context and insights provided. This can help team members interpret the data correctly and use it to make informed decisions, set realistic goals and take actions that can positively impact performance.
Using sales data to improve your results is a continuous process. Perhaps this level of detail is new to your business, or maybe you’re unsure how to scale your existing strategy.
You might even be trying all these things and still not seeing the progress you expect.
It might be time to bring in an expertly vetted service provider that knows your industry inside-out and can equip your sales team and its leaders to reach the next level.
Whether you’re selling physical products, software, services or anything else that’s core to your business, the BluWave-grade sales effectiveness firms and consultants are on standby to help.
We maintain a close relationship with each and everyone one of the resources that make up our invite-only network, which means we know the best match for you before you ever contact our research and operations team.
Contact us today to lay out the challenges you’re facing to properly leverage sales data and we’ll connect you to two of three niche-specific matches in less than 24 hours.
A tech stack is a set of software tools and programming languages that serves as the foundation of any technology project, including websites, desktop software and apps.
It’s also the backbone of a project and can determine its performance, scalability and maintenance in the long run. Selecting the right one can help developers streamline their work, speed up the development process and provide a better user experience.
The LAMP Stack is a widely used open-source web development stack that is suitable for creating dynamic websites. It comprises Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP, where Linux is the operating system, Apache is the web server software, MySQL is the database management system and PHP is the programming language used to create dynamic web pages.
MEAN Stack is a comprehensive JavaScript framework that is widely used to create dynamic web applications. It comprises MongoDB, Express.js, Angular and Node.js. MongoDB serves as the NoSQL database management system, Express.js is a web application framework used with Node.js, Angular is the front-end JavaScript framework that enables the creation of dynamic web pages and Node.js provides the back-end JavaScript runtime environment.
Another JavaScript framework that is commonly used for creating web applications that support real-time updates is the MERN Stack. It comprises MongoDB, Express.js, React, and Node.js. MongoDB serves as the NoSQL database management system, Express.js is a web application framework used with Node.js, React is the front-end JavaScript library used for building user interfaces and Node.js provides the back-end JavaScript runtime environment.
Ruby on Rails is a well-known web development framework that utilizes the Ruby programming language. It is a preferred choice for startups because of its user-friendly interface and straightforwardness. Ruby on Rails follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern and emphasizes convention over configuration.
The .NET Stack is a Microsoft technology stack that includes tools such as C#, ASP.NET, and Microsoft SQL Server. It is widely used for creating enterprise-level web applications. C# is an object-oriented programming language that helps develop Windows desktop applications and ASP.NET is a web application framework used for creating dynamic web pages.
Django Stack is a Python web development framework that is widely used for creating scalable and secure web applications. Django follows the Model-View-Template (MVT) architectural pattern and incorporates an Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) layer that enables developers to interact with databases using Python code.
The iOS Stack is a comprehensive stack of tools that includes Xcode, Swift, and Objective-C and is widely used for creating iOS mobile applications. Xcode is an integrated development environment (IDE) used to develop iOS apps, Swift is a programming language developed by Apple specifically for iOS app development and Objective-C was previously used to develop iOS apps before Swift was introduced.
The Android Stack is another comprehensive stack of tools that includes Android Studio, Java, and Kotlin and is widely used for developing Android mobile applications. Android Studio is an IDE used to develop Android apps, Java is an object-oriented programming language that is used for building Android apps and Kotlin was introduced by Google as an alternative to Java for Android app development.
Choosing the right tech stack is a critical decision for private equity firms. The right PE technology stack should be a cohesive system that enables fund managers to source deals, manage relationships with limited partners and portfolio companies, and close more deals.
A firm with the right technology solutions in place can work smarter and faster, deliver higher-margin services and ultimately increase profitability. For private equity firms, the technology stack should be viewed as an investment and a way to stay ahead of the competition.
There are many factors that go into choosing the technology stack, but here are some of the more important ones:
Out-of-the-box solutions: These are pre-built software solutions that can be used to solve common problems. They can save time and money by reducing the need for custom development. Examples include WordPress, Shopify and Salesforce.
Integration with third-party solutions: This refers to the ability of a tech stack to work with other software solutions. It’s important to choose a tech stack that can easily integrate with other tools you may need in the future. Examples include Zapier, Segment and Twilio.
Developer availability: This refers to the availability of developers who are skilled in a particular tech stack. It’s important to choose a tech stack that has a large pool of developers available so that you can find the right talent for your project.
Documentation: This refers to the quality and quantity of documentation available for a particular tech stack. Good documentation can help developers get up to speed quickly and reduce the time needed for troubleshooting. Examples include React documentation and Django documentation.
Easy to test: This refers to how easy it is to test code written in a particular tech stack. A good tech stack should have testing tools built-in or have easy-to-use testing frameworks available. Examples include Jest for React and Pytest for Python.
If any of this sounds like unfamiliar territory (and even if it doesn’t), it may be a good reason to look for expert help.
There are experienced, proven service providers out there who know industry-specific tech stack requirements inside-out and can help your business make the best decisions every step of the way.
Fortunately, you don’t have to waste time searching for them. Hundreds of PE firms and private and public companies tap into the Business Builders’ Network for this exact reason.
Not only will you be connected in less than one business day, but we’ll only provide the exact-fit resources that are experienced in your particular industry.
Centralized data in business analytics involves consolidating information from across an organization into a single system for easier analysis.
“This aspect of business intelligence and analytics is important because it gives companies visibility into KPIs at a high level,” says Brandon John, BluWave’s Service Provider Relationship Manager.
The consolidation usually happens in something called a data warehouse.
Business intelligence practices like centralization are becoming more and more important to businesses, whether that mean private equity, portcos or private and public companies.
According to our most recent quarterly report, we saw “broad-scale adoption of data quality and visualization endeavors and emergent efforts in higher level analytics and AI.”
Let’s take a closer look at what data centralization can do for your business.
Centralized data provides a single source of truth so leadership can make faster, more accurate business decisions.
Early Detection of Issues
Centralized data allows businesses to identify problems sooner before they become bigger issues.
More Consistency
Different departments often have the same definitions and metrics for things like active users and sales. By centralizing data, you can eliminate confusion at the leadership level.
Holistic View of Customer Journey
Centralized data from marketing, sales and customer service systems provide a complete picture of the customer experience.
Advanced Capabilities
It is easier to analyze data and find insights when all of the relevant data is in one place. Businesses can more easily see correlations across different data sets.
Increased Efficiency
Employees don’t have to spend time aggregating data from different systems. Everything is available in a single source.
Improved Trust
There is confidence that the data and reports are accurate and consistent since there is only one version of the truth.
Digital transformation is no longer something only the biggest, wealthiest companies can afford.
Not only are these services within reach for businesses of all sizes – from enterprise organizations to lower middle market companies – but they’re also essential.
Learn about common improvement areas all businesses can implement to accelerate digital transformation efforts.
Business leaders, including operations partners at private equity firms, C-level executives and functional leads are evaluating the digital capabilities and infrastructure in their companies to identify areas for improvement
Simple improvements to workflows or procedures can significantly trim manual tasks and optimize human capital during economic uncertainty
“No-regret” moves such as the following can accelerate change in a targeted, cost-effective way:
Adopting cloud and SaaS solutions
Improving cybersecurity
Enhancing website capabilities with tools like chatbots
Automating order processing and inventory management
Pricing consultants help businesses maximize profits based on researching trends, competitors, customer behavior and more. The goal is to maintain high demand and revenue generation without sacrificing quality, loyalty or perception.
Setting the right price for a product or service is a key factor in maximizing profit margin. It can unlock substantial additional revenue when done correctly.
In fact, demand for pricing strategy resources continues to increase in this high-inflation economy. It’s often among the most-sought resources in the BluWave network.
If you want to hire a pricing expert, here’s what you should look for during your evaluation.
How consultants set prices depends on many factors, such as the type of product or service, market conditions, customer segments and business goals. That’s why it’s so important to hire someone who will take the time to intimately understand your organization and its competitors.
By choosing the “right price,” these consultants help maximize a business’s ROI by protecting profit margins while maximizing revenue and demand.
Pricing consultants may use a number of different high-level strategies: cost-plus pricing; value-based pricing; dynamic pricing; promotional pricing; penetration pricing; skimming pricing.
Pricing, however, is not a one-time exercise. They must be constantly assessed and adjusted based on performance. Consultants work closely with their clients to understand their objectives and constraints and develop a pricing strategy that supports them.
They help businesses choose the “right price” that aligns with the overall business strategy, marketing plan and sales goals to achieve maximum ROI.
When choosing a pricing consultant, finding someone who thoroughly researches the market before making recommendations is essential. Pricing consultants use various methods such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, experiments, data analysis, and more to gain customer and market insights. This establishes a solid foundation for an effective strategy.
In addition to customer and market insights, pricing consultants also consider production, distribution and other operational costs to develop a strategy that ensures profitability.
Pricing consultants also analyze competitors’ strategies to identify opportunities and potential threats. This analysis includes not only their product or service prices, but also their promotions, discounts and other tactics.
To measure price sensitivity, consultants may use techniques such as conjoint analysis or price elasticity testing. This helps them determine how price changes may affect customer demand. They also use digital tools such as web analytics, social listening and sentiment analysis to gain insights into customer behavior and preferences.
All this market research can help validate a new product or service, identify customer value drivers, measure price sensitivity, segment customers by willingness to pay, benchmark competitors’ prices and more.
After conducting market research and analyzing customer insights, pricing consultants typically use a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis to create a pricing strategy that meets their clients’ goals. This includes:
Segmenting customers: Based on their willingness to pay, customer segments are created to help determine the optimal pricing strategy. This involves identifying the different types of customers, their preferences and their willingness to pay for a particular product or service.
Identifying value drivers: Consultants work with their clients to identify the key value drivers for their products or services. This involves understanding what features or benefits are most important to customers and how they affect their willingness to pay.
Developing pricing structures: After identifying customer segments and value drivers, consultants develop pricing structures that align with their clients’ business goals. This may involve creating different pricing tiers or packages that offer different levels of benefits or features.
Conducting sensitivity analysis: For an optimal pricing strategy, consultants conduct sensitivity analysis to understand how changes in pricing may affect demand and revenue.
Developing measurement tools: Pricing consultants also develop measurement tools to monitor the performance of the pricing strategy over time. This includes setting up metrics and analytics to track sales, revenue, profit margins and customer satisfaction.
By using a combination of market research, quantitative analysis, and pricing strategies, pricing consultants help businesses maximize ROI and growth.
To better understand customer behavior and preferences, pricing consultants use a range of techniques to gather insights:
Key decision factors: One of the first steps in understanding a customer base is defining what motivates them. This involves identifying the main drivers of customer behavior, such as price, quality, brand reputation or convenience. Research techniques such as surveys, focus groups and data analysis can all be used to understand what influences purchasing decisions.
Willingness to pay: This concept helps businesses determine the optimal price point for their products or services. Essentially, willingness to pay is a measure of how much customers are willing to spend on a particular product or service based on factors such as perceived value, quality and market competition.
Preferences: Customer needs vary from market to market. For example, pricing consultants may work to reduce churn for a SaaS organization by understanding customers’ needs, what they value and how they make choices. Success is measured by an increase in adoption and revenue.
Offer options: Offering choices with good-better-best options and bundles that meet varying needs, use cases and budgets can reveal a lot about a customer. KPIs here include customer adoption and employing Give-Gets to protect price/value alignment.
Perception of discounts: It’s also important to understand how customers perceive discounts and how they influence purchasing decisions. This information is also used to inform pricing strategies that maximize revenue while maintaining loyalty.
A pricing expert will know when and how to use each of these tactics to develop the deepest understanding of the customer base for your particular industry.
Some businesses never realize the potential of their products or services because they’re not charging the right price.
By blindly setting prices without conducting proper diligence, you’re leaving money on the table. Depending on the size of your business, this could mean millions of dollars.
Fortunately, there’s a roster of expertly vetted price consultants ready for you to hire from within the BluWave Business Builders’ Network.
We have thoroughly evaluated each and every pricing resource that’s been invited into our network so that you can move forward with confidence. These niche-specific resources have invaluable experience helping companies like yours optimize prices.
Whether you’re a PE firm working with a portco, or a private or public company that wants to accelerate revenue growth, we already have the right service provider for you.
Companies conduct voice of customer (VoC) studies to better understand how people interact with their product or service.
While there are many techniques to gather this information, the objective is largely the same: Ensure the customer is being heard and served as best as possible.
Private equity firms, portfolio companies, and private and public companies can all benefit from a strong voice of customer framework.
“Voice of the customer is extremely important to businesses because it allows companies to have visibility into where they are performing highly and where they are not,” says Brandon John, BluWave’s service provider relationship manager. “By hearing exactly how their customers feel about their brand, they can allocate the appropriate resources to improve some identified areas.”
Let’s talk about some of the advantages organizations can gain with the information gathered in VoC research.
Benefits of VoC
There are several advantages to conducting a voice-of-customer survey. It come as no surprise, then, that it’s been top-of-mind for our clients for years.
“VoC projects are always going to be something PE firms prioritize with their portcos,” John says. “We receive steady demand in this space and have since BluWave was founded.”
Rather than merely gathering feedback, VoC research helps companies reimagine their products and services to surpass customers’ needs by gaining an intricate understanding of who they are and what they want.
This includes how and when they use the product, as well as why they’re more (or less) likely to choose it over a competitor.
Listening to customers and resolving their concerns establishes trust and loyalty, decreasing attrition and boosting customer lifetime value.
A client is more likely to stick with a brand that it feels has its best interests in mind.
Better Business Decisions
Actionable insights gleaned from customer input can steer key business choices around product roadmaps, marketing campaigns, pricing strategies and service models.
Increased Bottom Line
An unparalleled customer experience not only spurs growth, but also a competitive edge. One study showed that companies with strong VoC programs boast 10X more annual revenue growth.
Enhanced Customer Satisfaction
Catering to customers’ needs and wants forges lasting connections. It not only enhances the existing customer experience, but makes it more likely to acquire new ones as you get a better grasp on your target market.
This can have a compound effect as a happy customer is also more likely to recommend your brand or service to friends, families, colleagues and industry peers.
Employee Retention
This might come as a surprise, but your own employees can also benefit from VoC studies. That’s because it gives them a stronger connection to the customer by putting themselves in their shoes. The more aligned the employees are with the clients, the more satisfied they tend to be, thus limiting turnover.
To comprehensively capture the opinions of your customers, you should employ multiple avenues for feedback, including surveys, social media, reviews, emails and phone calls.
By using a variety of channels to gather input, companies can gain a multifaceted understanding of client needs and desires that fuels business decisions, improved experiences and financial gains.
Choose Timing Wisely
The timing of requests for customer feedback can significantly impact the quality and amount of responses. Businesses should choose a moment that is relevant, convenient and respectful for clients, such as after a purchase, service interaction or milestone.
Businesses that are considerate in their requests for input are more likely to receive thoughtful, actionable responses that can drive key business decisions and improved outcomes.
The best moment to act on feedback received is as soon as possible. While you want to be diligent about understanding and applying what customers tell you, times is of the essence.
This is especially important when it comes to fixing problems, resolving negative feedback and staying ahead of competitors.
Segmentation
To gain business insights, companies should analyze customer feedback and group clients by factors like demographics or habits. Tailoring actions to different groups helps build loyalty and boost revenue.
It also establishes trust, decreases attrition and increases lifetime value by making each experience as tailored as possible.
The quality of your feedback depends largely on the quality of your questions. You should ask clear, concise and specific questions that are easy to understand and answer. You should also avoid leading, biased or ambiguous questions that can skew your results.
The value of customer input hinges greatly on the quality of the questions posed. Aim for clear, crisp and targeted inquiries that are easy to comprehend and respond to. Avoid being suggestive, biased or obscure lines of questioning that can skew results.
Your goal is to learn what customers think about your business, not try to convince them of something.
Acknowledge Feedback
One of the most important VoC best practices is to acknowledge your customers’ feedback and show them that you appreciate their time and opinions. There’s never been more competition for our time, so the fact that someone is willing to participate in your study means they probably have strong feelings.
Follow up with a thank-you message, sharing how their feedback will be used or even offering a reward (see below).
Share Findings Internally
To turn feedback into action, you need to share your findings with the relevant stakeholders in your organization. You should communicate the key insights, recommendations and action plans to your employees, managers and leaders. You should also encourage collaboration and accountability across different teams and departments.
Benchmark Against Your Industry
To measure your performance and progress against your competitors and industry standards, you should benchmark your VoC metrics against external data sources. You can use industry reports, surveys or benchmarks to compare your customer satisfaction, loyalty and advocacy levels with others in your field.
Test and Optimize
VoC best practices are dynamic, not static. You should constantly refine your program to ensure that it is effective, efficient and aligned with your overall business goals.
This can be done with A/B testing, analytics or feedback loops to evaluate and improve your VoC methods, tools and strategies.
Involve Key Stakeholders
To ensure that your VoC program has the support and resources it needs to succeed, you should involve key stakeholders from the start.
Identify decision-makers, influencers and beneficiaries of your program and engage them in defining the goals, scope and outcomes of your efforts.
Offer Participation Incentives
To increase your response rates and motivate your customers to share their feedback , you can offer participation incentives such as discounts, coupons, freebies or loyalty points.
Choose incentives that are relevant, attractive and proportional to the effort required from your customers.
The expert service providers in the BluWave network know the importance of understanding your customers.
We constantly vet and re-vet the best third-party resources for this exact need, no matter what your customer type or industry.
“We have a solid bench of VoC providers in the BluWave network,” says John, who interacts with these third-party resources on a daily basis. “However, it is important to have the right group, for the right need, at the right time.”
Contact our research and operations team and walk us through your VoC needs. In less than one business day, we’ll introduce you to two or three exact-match options.
“Like all service toolboxes in the BluWave network, the VoC toolbox is always rapidly expanding,” John adds.
Once you make a selection, we’ll hold the service provider accountable from start to finish as they bring their voice of customer expertise to your specific situation.
Business intelligence continues to be among the most high-demand services in the Business Builders’ Network.
One aspect of BI&A that’s popular is automation.
The founding partner of one of our BluWave service providers says BI automation is essential to modernizing data analysis.
“A lot of times the process involves people pulling data into spreadsheets manually, analyzing, cleaning, doing stuff with the data and then giving it to their bosses or whoever downstream needs them,” says the partner, Mike Datus*. “That’s usually a very error-prone process because it’s done by humans.”
Business intelligence automation is the process of consolidating and streamlining your company’s data into a single warehouse that can be accessed in real-time.
Automation provides instantaneous insights that forgo manual input and data manipulation to give team members actionable, consistent information to drive their day-to-day decisions.
Put another way, it helps you automate business processes.
Companies that are older, or perhaps resource-challenged, can benefit greatly from automating their data collection and analysis.
Another data firm’s founding partner, who we’ll call Steve Holms*, puts it this way:
“Holding larger data sets and integrating more data sources to do analysis across several different places makes it a lot easier to analyze.”
It’s no surprise that business intelligence tools are in such high demand. We have seen countless PE firms and other companies streamline processes and improve real-time decision-making because of them.
Here are just a few of the reasons why you should consider implementing or upgrading your automation efforts.
Save Time
Not only will you complete key tasks sooner, but you’ll be able to make important decisions faster, too.
“You’re talking about orders of seconds instead of hours or days, right? And then that’s huge,” Datus says. “With one of our clients, we built a platform, so instead of waiting a week, the CFO now had a live dashboard in board meetings. So when he was asked a question, he didn’t have to say, ‘I’ll get back to you next week.’ He literally just popped up his dashboard, did a quick filter, and had the answer.”
Our service providers often see situations where top executives need different versions of the same report depending on who they’re working with or what meeting they’re in at a given moment.
This often meant one-off iterations of the same data sets that take might not be available the same day, or even week.
“If the analyst has to go back, they have to go back and pull the data again, do the analysis, run it through, right? That’s another runtime,” says Holms, who noted that those iterations add up.
Another time-saving scenario is if an analyst leaves the company, is on vacation or has an emergency. Data analysis doesn’t stop as soon as that key player becomes unavailable.
“You only have to program it once, and you’re done,” Holms says. “It’s all in the database, and they don’t have to email anybody in case they didn’t get the report.”
Have you ever tried to access a report so robust that you thought your computer might break down? You’re not alone.
Another benefit of business intelligence automation is the ability to scale.
“Sometimes your data’s so large, it’s hard for Excel to even open, right?” Holms says. “How does sales correlate with product performance, correlate with manufacturing, correlate with this? —putting it in one place makes things a lot easier to expand.”
Save Money
There are multiple ways BI automation can save your company money:
You may be able to reduce headcount on your analytics team and reinvest those savings elsewhere
The time you do save – as mentioned earlier – is time for which you’re no longer paying
The data itself could unveil inefficiencies in your business that are ripe for improvement
Manual intervention is expensive. By cutting out intermediaries, and empowering decision-makers more quickly, they can use expertise that no program can account for to make impactful decisions
Consistency
Humans are much more error-prone than machines. Especially well-designed and well-programmed machines.
While you wouldn’t want to automate a process so heavily that it’s no longer monitored, the correct calibration can set your team much more at ease.
“You’re building good processes to make sure it’s consistent. It’s done by computers, so once you do it once it’s pretty robust, unless the data itself changes or the business changes,” Holms says. “Sometimes you just get errors that are difficult to detect. And if you want to go back to see what were my numbers last week or two weeks ago or three months ago, you have to go into your email inbox and search for the report.”
With BI automation, you can leave the inbox behind and find everything you need in your dashboard.
“It’s all in the database,” Holms says, “and they don’t have to email anybody in case they didn’t get the report.”
Dynamic Reports
As we already hinted at above, automated dashboards and visualizations are essentially living, breathing databases.
Instead of plugging new information into a spreadsheet every time you want to update a report, it’s available instantaneously. Not only that. Since it’s connected to the source, you don’t have to input the data at all.
“Once you have it all there getting updated predictably, you can create these really rich charts and graphs, because with these tools you can get these visuals that aren’t static,” Datus says. “The real-time dashboards update as the data comes into the system. So if you want to see one chart or the set of 20 charts for last week just for finance, you can click a few things, and you can get that report.”
While automation can be valuable to a business, it doesn’t come without some potential downside. With the right help, though, we believe all of these can be overcome.
Job Loss
Automation may replace human workers and lead to job losses – at least in the short term.
A benefit of this, though, is that it frees those some people up to learn and use new skills that are equally valuable to the business. Money saved on one area of human capital can be reinvested in your talent.
System Failures
Automated systems can experience technical issues, thereby disrupting business operations. You would hope that this is the exception and not the norm, but even so, manual intervention may be required to fix the issues.
Expert service providers, however, are familiar with the most common vulnerabilities, and will know how to not only fix them, but also proactively prevent them.
Automated systems are designed to handle repetitive, routine tasks in a predetermined manner. They may lack the flexibility to adapt to unexpected situations or changes.
This is quickly changing, though, with the implementation of more and more AI tools that can often course-correct much faster than humans.
This perceived “risk” is quickly becoming a moot point in many senses.
Cost
Implementing and maintaining automated systems can be expensive. This is most likely to be an issue for very small businesses that have less to automate and can handle all their data by traditional means.
Large companies with more robust budgets will probably find that the investment is well worth it in the long run. This includes private equity firms, their portcos, and private and public companies of all shapes and sizes.
While automation involves these and other risks, it’s an increasingly valuable and in-demand facet of business intelligence. Based on the feedback we receive from our clients and expert service providers, we wouldn’t shy away from exploring how your business can benefit from automation.
Now that you have considered the pros and cons of BI Automation, it’s time to look at the tools at your disposal. While all of these can have a significant impact on your business, you want to make sure you’re using the right ones.
Let’s get familiar with a few of the high-level categories, as well as some specific business automation technologies within them. That way, when our research and operations team connects you to a tailor-made, niche-specific firm to set up your BI automation, you’ll have an idea of what you’re looking for.
Dashboards
BI automation dashboards display key performance indicators, data points and other important metrics in an easy-to-understand format. They provide a 360-degree view of performance using charts, graphs and other visuals.
They offer a quick-glance overview of your organization’s most important metrics, allowing users to quickly identify areas of strong or weak performance, spot emerging trends and gain data-driven insights. Some examples include Power BI, Tableau and Qlik Sense.
Common metrics used to evaluate business performance are cash flow, customer satisfaction and website traffic. Others include sales revenue and customer loyalty.
When you work with an experienced data analytics firm, they’ll be able to match your business needs to the right tools.
Visualizations
BI automation visualizations enable end users to execute automated workflows based on insights within a report. The workflows can be data-contextual, meaning they can change based on filters.
They are often used to connect multiple data sources, create interactive dashboards and charts, provide real-time visualizations and alerts and utilize natural language processing.
This type of BI automation tool leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to automatically generate and apply predictive models based on data insights. Predictive models are employed to forecast what may occur in the future dependent on historical and current data.
These are often used to predict things like customer churn, sales revenue and product demand. They’re especially utilized in the healthcare, finance and marketing industries.
Data mining techniques to extract valuable insights from large data sets for making more informed decisions. It’s a branch of data science that searches for patterns, anomalies and correlations in using statistics, artificial intelligence and machine learning.
It’s often used to solve customer segmentation, fraud detection and market basket analysis. Many of the tools listed in the sections above can also be used for these tasks.
If a lot of this sounds new to you and your team, that’s OK. In fact, Holms says that even a well-composed manual report can be a great launching point for BI automation.
“I would say even if you have an Excel report and it’s a good Excel report, you’re already ahead of the game,” he says.
If you don’t know where to start, set up a scoping call with our research and operations team. We’ll connect you to world-class firms like Datus’s, Holms’, or other PE-grade service providers that can serve your exact needs for your particular industry.
*Privacy is important to us. While the source and company name have been changed, these are real quotations from a real service provider in the BluWave Business Builders’ Network.
