The Advantages of Data Visualization for Business

Understanding the data in front of you is pivotal in not just understanding it but also planning and implementing it in the future. Data visualization allows us to see trends, patterns and changes clearly and understand what changes to make. However, there are even more advantages and we’re going to take a look at them in this piece.

Easily Understand and View Information

Mapping software and other data visualization tools are easier for individuals to interpret and understand.  This shouldn’t be too surprising since 90% of the total information that gets transmitted to our brains is visual.  That is why data visualization allows users to understand large amounts of information more easily, like market and sales information.

Visualizing spreadsheet and Excel data onto interactive maps allows you to quickly visualize and optimize your data in a way that is easy to share and communicate with stakeholders.  This piece on enhancing enterprise platform usability through automation showcases looks at the numerous options and how they can benefit all sorts of business.

Identify Relationships and Patterns between Performance and Operations

Data visualization software makes it possible for you to discover relationships and patterns that take place between your overall business performance and day-to-day operations.  Mapping your data provides you with an easy and clear way to see how your daily marketing and sales activities impact the performance of your overall business in a way that is much more vibrant.  That lets you compare your current performance with your past performance, so that you can plan for your future.  You even have the ability to break then down into various components, like customer demographics or different geographical locations.  This makes it possible for you to identify possible reasons for a dip or growth in your market and come up with a plan to address these issues.

Create a New Business Language

Using data visualization offers you another advantage, which is being able to use data to tell a story.

For example, when business leaders of consumer packaged goods companies track key performance indicators like net profit margin and EBITDA, they only are able to capture part of the story regarding current business conditions through the use of a static bar chart.  This chart may indicate that the company was able to generate a revenue growth of 2 percent over the past month.  However, it can’t show which categories are shrinking or growing the fastest or what the reasons are.

A heat map can be used to illustrate which of the product groups are under performing or performing well, and let business leader’s drill into the data in order to determine which factors are influencing sales.  This data may reveal that a majority of sales come from higher-income customers or that one of the underperforming categories is pet care products.  Those insights can be used for targeting promotions to that segment of customers in order to increase that category’s conversion rates and sales growth.

Using data visualization to engage executives can provide new ways to look at operational and business data, make it possible for senior management to reach new heights when it comes to business performance, and enable a broader analytic user audience in search of improved performance.

Interact Directly With the Data

Data visualization software makes it possible for you to interact directly with real-time data, unlike tables and graphs that are generated by spreadsheets and can be viewed only.  As an example, a spreadsheet might inform you that a particular product’s overall sales have increased.

However, on a map you can see that the sales are from a certain area, while there are other areas that are under performing.  When territory mapping and other data visualization software is used, you can drill down even further very quickly into specific regions.  You can also change or realign sales territories or use the software to reassign a sales person in order to work in a market that is under performing.  With today’s technology, it can be done while on the go from any device that is connected to the internet like laptops, tablets or smartphones.  It is ideal for individuals who need to present at a meeting or who are on the go.

Empower your business

Your employees and business can be empowered by data visualization by providing them with new ways of viewing the data of your organization, which allows them to make more informed and better decisions from every aspect of the business, and from senior management down to junior members.  In this age of abundant data and information, data visualization tools make it possible for you to gain insight, as well as analyse and target the critical data that can get your business moving in the right direction.

This piece showcases the different ways that implementing this sort of data can benefit your business and get it on track for a great future.