Collecting data to improve your business

Medium effort

Medium impact

Collecting the right data helps to support decision making, inform marketing strategies and facilitate accurate forecasts. But all too often, small businesses fall into the trap of collecting more data than is needed, ending up with quantity over quality. Follow our five-point action plan to streamline your data collection so that every data set you gather has meaning and purpose.

We’ve designed our action plans to be completed in the order of steps laid out and explained why each step is important
Customising your action plan lets you set your own completion dates, assign tasks to others and get notifications
Helpful tools are provided for certain steps while a tracking metric at the end will help you determine the long-term success of your effort
A downloadable PDF version of each action plan is available if you’d like to compete it offline

What's involved? Ways to use this action plan Measuring impact

Set your primary research question for your data collection. Do this by considering what would make the biggest difference to your business if you knew about it.

Impact: medium

Why will this help?

If you don’t know what question you’re asking then you can’t answer it with data. Defining a research question streamlines the data you collect and will make sure you’re using it smartly.

Setting a research question for data collection

Defining a research question for data collection keeps the process on track and makes sure any data you collect is relevant to your business goals.

Consolidate all the tools you currently use to collect data by reviewing how well they are performing. Do they deliver meaningful data sets that help to answer your research question?

Impact: medium

Why will this help?

By better understanding the data you need, you can ensure that your chosen tool packages support your needs. If they don’t, look for something that will do the job better.

Find a CRM system that delivers value for your business

Customer relationship management (CRM) systems enable businesses to collate customer data from various channels and better understand and serve the needs of customers.

An introduction to assessing and choosing the right technology to improve business operations

The path to finding the best tools for your business can be a long and winding one. This is because there is no magical, one-size-fits-all package that can solve the problems and improve the processes of every team.

Talk to peers about how they collect data to improve their business. What approaches have they found to be most effective, and could you apply any similar tactics?

Impact: medium

Why will this help?

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to data collection, but seeing what works for other companies will broaden your own scope and understanding. Take this insight and use it to shape your own approach.

Develop a data collection process to inform your business strategy

Actionable data can be a game changer for all businesses. Deciding what data to collect and how to use it, however, is easier said than done.

Successfully applying peer learnings requires careful thought

Applying learnings from peers has been important for Creative Nature’s growth, but the application of ideas required careful thought.

Research how to store data safely and make sure you’re compliant with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws

Impact: high

Why will this help?

Businesses of all sizes have a responsibility to comply with GDPR requirements, which set out the way companies should collect, store and manage personal data in your CRM system and beyond.

Storing data safely with GDPR

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provides clear guidelines on how businesses should collect and store data.

Start collecting the data you need to improve your business

Impact: high

Why will this help?

Whether it involves implementing a customer relationship management (CRM) system, investing in new tools or incentivising stakeholders to give you the data you need, it’s time to put your research into action.

An introduction to collecting data to improve your business

Data is a core part of business strategies. It’s used to determine areas of growth, forecast effectively and make informed decisions about marketing.

Data provides a foundation for better decision making

When collected well, data can provide valuable insights into your business. These insights can then inform strategic decisions to improve it and help you grow.

What can I do with this Action Plan?

Start this Action Plan

Add some extra information to this plan and we’ll help you get it done.

We’ve designed our action plans to be completed in the order of steps laid out and explained why each step is important
Customising your action plan lets you set your own completion dates, assign tasks to others and get notifications
Helpful tools are provided for certain steps while a tracking metric at the end will help you determine the long-term success of your effort
A downloadable PDF version of each action plan is available if you’d like to compete it offline

Download and print

Get a printable template for this Action Plan, fill it in with some target dates, and share it with your team. Pin it on the wall where everyone can see it.

Get the printable Action Plan

Learning Groups

We also run Learning Groups on these topics where you can join other leaders tackling the same challenges.

Find a Learning Group

How will I know if my action plan is working?

Amount of relevant data collected

Analysis will tell you how useful your data is

Why this metric?

Analysing your data will demonstrate whether you’ve done enough research and if your changes have had an impact.

How do I start tracking?

Speak to employees and relevant stakeholders after six months to find out how much relevant data they’ve been able to collect and how they’ve been able to apply it to their roles.