How a data stack can save costs for your company

We hear you, reading the news is bleak right now. The aftermath of several years of “unprecedented times” has resulted in an uncertain and gloomy economic outlook for 2023. Recession forecasts have sent companies of all sizes scrambling into “survival mode,” adopting a cost-cutting mindset.

To ensure that they can weather the storm, we’ve already seen companies act fast - sudden budget cuts and ruthless overnight layoffs in order to “stay lean” and get through what might be a turbulent ride.

While this is an entirely natural response and savings strategies make all the sense in the world right now, companies shouldn’t be jumping the gun and acting impulsively to slash everything in sight, left and right. Although tempting, companies should take time to thoroughly evaluate which areas and investments can actually save costs for the company, particularly longer-term. They should be asking themselves the questions:

• What is the ROI on this investment? Even if it’s a monthly cost, is the ROI a year from now greater?
• Will this have a net positive on our bottom line?
• Can this feature or product help our customers save costs?
• Will this help us monitor our revenue and make better decisions?

We believe that investing into a data stack for your company is one of those fundamental, worthwhile things that would be a mistake to “slash.” A Modern Data Stack empowers companies to collect, store, transform, and analyze data from their various sources. They can set up a foundation for modeling, exploration, and visualizing their data in order to uncover actionable insights for better decisions.

If you’re at the C-level or in senior leadership during uncertain times like this - the value of the ability to confidently make data-driven, informed decisions over gut-feeling decisions is vital. A wrong gut-feeling decision could be costly.

Having a scalable data stack in place that provides your business with accurate, ongoing visibility into data can help companies save costs in countless ways. It essentially gives businesses the tools at their disposal to monitor and learn from reality, patterns, and trends to grow their revenue, while also streamlining existing processes and operations.

Real-time performance monitoring for revenue growth

A data stack can help companies monitor their revenue team performance in real-time, which can enable them to identify and address potential problems and opportunities as they arise. Businesses can understand what’s working and what’s not and pivot accordingly right away - making decisions that will steer the company in the right direction. It’s like having a co-pilot that is purely rooted in reality - helping you through uncharted waters.

With a BI platform in place with visualization capabilities, Marketing, Sales, Customer Success, and Growth teams get an ongoing, accurate picture of how things are going and what needs to change. Within BI platforms, data from your CRM can be combined with Marketing acquisition data, for example, to get an understanding of acquisition channels and what’s worth doubling down on. This way, you can refine and optimize your marketing spend to give you more bang for your buck. BI platforms like Whaly have self-service capabilities that allow business users to access analytics whenever they need it - so that these business decisions and pivots are truly done in real-time.

Track usage and take measures to reduce churn

With a data stack, companies can also monitor product usage and customer interactions to gauge how valuable their product is to their customers. This helps them understand which accounts or customers have low usage, and as a result, might churn in the future. Having an understanding of these indicators in advance can help companies prepare in advance and take measures to address any potential concerns or issues.

Beyond taking preventative measures, companies can also turn things around to increase customer loyalty across the board and encourage upsells or repeat business, driving more revenue.

Streamline processes for improved operational efficiencies

A data stack can help companies identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies in processes. By analyzing data on how long different tasks take, how often errors occur, and other metrics, companies can identify areas where improvements can be made.

Companies can also leverage data to automate and streamline various business processes, which can reduce the need for manual labor and other costly resources. Businesses can make better decisions around resource allocation through understanding resource utilization and demand. For example, data on customer demand and inventory levels can be used to determine the optimal number of employees for a given shift, or to decide which products to prioritize in the manufacturing process.

To ensure that you’re getting real value out of your data stack during times like this, there are a few things that can be done:

• Boosting trust through putting an effort into data accuracy - is everyone in your company confident that the data they have access to is correct? How confident are your Head of Marketing & Head of Sales in your company’s data?
• Focus on data adoption so that everyone is on the same page and leveraging data to make data-driven business decisions. Self-service BI tools like Whaly can help ensure that everyone across the company has an accurate pulse on what’s going on in the business.

The good thing about a Modern Data Stack, compared to the traditional stack, is that it’s all cloud-based, meaning that it’s significantly cheaper than on-premise solutions. By having a modern data stack in place, you’re already seeing a better ROI than on traditional stacks.

Having a modern data stack in place, including a business intelligence platform, can help companies save costs by giving them access to real-time data and insights that can inform their decision-making and help them identify areas where they can cut costs and reduce expenses.

So, if you’re thinking of making cuts to your data budget, think again! In the long-term, you’ll be glad you made room for a piece of the stack that will help with ongoing data visibility. After all, confident, data-backed decisions are priceless and will steer your company in the right direction.

To speak to a data expert and learn more about setting up your stack, get in touch!