Trend Watch: How To Identify Trends In Your Business, Understand What Is Driving Them, and React Accordingly
A trend is a general development or change in a situation. When it comes to identifying trends in your business, there are several key points to consider. Here are some suggestions:
Define Relevant Metrics
Start by identifying the key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics that are most relevant to your business, depending on where you are in your business cycle. These could include sales figures, customer acquisition rates, website traffic, conversion rates, customer retention rates, social media engagement, or any other metrics that align with your goals. Consider what is important to your customers.
Monitor Changes Over Time
Analyze your business metrics over different time periods to identify trends. Look for consistent patterns, upward or downward trends, or any significant deviations from the norm.
I always suggest measuring the last three-month period and then comparing it to the same time last year. By examining changes over time, you can detect emerging trends and spot areas for improvement. This is also a way to measure if the changes or actions you have put in place are effective, so you know what to do more or less of.
Compare Metrics To Industry Benchmarks
Benchmark your metrics against industry standards or competitors to gain valuable insights. This allows you to understand how your business is performing relative to others in your sector. If you notice significant differences, it could indicate areas where you need to adjust or capitalize on untapped opportunities.
Numbers do not always tell you the whole story, but they certainly tell you where to look and dig a little deeper.
Conduct Data Segmentation
Break down your metrics into different segments to uncover hidden trends. Analyze data by customer demographics, geographic locations, product lines, or any other relevant categories. This approach can help you identify specific trends within different segments of your business and target your strategies accordingly.
Coaching TIp: We often focus on the desired results and believe this will change the behaviour. Instead, focus on the behavious to impact the results.
5. Analyze Correlations And Causations
Look for correlations between different metrics to gain deeper insights. For example, you may notice that when staff productivity per hour is too high, your capture rate goes down. Analyzing is important, but more important is the “so what” - so what does this mean, and what should you do with this information? In this example, it means your staff cannot keep up with the customer demand and they are missing opportunities.
What should/could you do:
Determine the best productivity range for your office.
Adjust the schedule or staffing to ensure staffing levels are appropriate.
If staffing is difficult, look to tasks that could be automated or outsourced.
Schedule non-customer tasks before or after opening hours.
Cross-train staff.
In closing, a word of caution: Once you start down this path of analyzing data, you can fall prey to a serious condition that I call “analysis paralysis.” To avoid this, choose a maximum of two metrics at a time, then set goals, build a strategy to implement them, train, coach and monitor.
Nancy Dewald is a business development professional, workshop facilitator and optical industry veteran who founded and is CEO of Lead Up Training & Consulting, a company specializing in identifying business gaps, implementing solutions and developing leaders.
Article as seen in Optical Prism.