Who is data analyst? What is the role of a data analyst in a business? What is the importance of business data analyst? Here are all answers.
Have you ever given thought to how much data humans generate? Well, the answer is something you may not be able to write out if put to the test. We are talking about 2.5 quintillion bytes every single day. Yes, that is 25 plus 17 zeros after that. Mind-boggling right? Well, don’t dwell too much on that answer because IoT will only accelerate the figures further.
Now, Let’s put together a scenario by explaining what a data analyst does. Imagine you hold a critical role as a business manager. You use data daily to make decisions that could change the company’s trajectory. So, you get information from all the departments in raw form.
Imagine spreadsheets upon spreadsheets of data. Include Word documents, recordings, etc. It would be easy to see how difficult your job would be. But, thanks to career specializations, we have data analysts. So who are they, and what is the importance of data analyst in a business?
Uncovering The Importance Of A Data Analyst In A Business
The business of a data analyst is in data. Their role is to collect, clean, analyze and interpret information. The process aims to generate insights the company can use for different purposes.
Let’s go back to the scenario we had painted above. As a business executive, you receive data in a condensed, digestible form. The data analyst screens the raw information and extracts what would be useful.
The data analysts use different presentation formats like graphs, line charts, and straightforward points to share pertinent information. So, you may get a slim file or a ten-page PowerPoint presentation. Yet, the data analyst had to go through tons of information that, if printed out, could fill warehouses.
Data analysis is a lucrative career choice for one reason. There is no industry that does not use data. Thus the need for someone to manage it is a constant need. If you are a data analyst, you can find chances within the departments of Finance, Medicine, Government, Justice, and more.
And, you don’t have to waste hours sending out your CV to different organizations. All you need to do is sign up to OnlyDataJobs or other similar online portals. The data jobs platform will send notifications on top employers’ job offerings.
Let’s now look at the importance of data analysts to your business.
Also Check: Top 8 Data Science Challenges Data Scientists Face and How to Fix Them?
The Critical Role of Data Analysts In A Business
Here are key reasons why a data analyst’s skills are so critical in a business.
Better Market Understanding With Data Analytics
To stay successful in the business world, you must have a pulse on what is going on. And that often involves a lot of research work. It could be in the form of:
- Market research
- Competitor research
- Target audience research
- Product/service research and more.
As you can imagine, there is a lot of data the teams have to collect. Here you can see the importance of data analyst. The data analyst’s job is to clean and analyze the information to generate insights. They then put this into a digestible format that business managers can use for decision-making.
Solid Data-Based Decision Making
Data-based decision-making removes the guesswork. Also, the company does not play a wait-and-see game to know what works. Let’s take the example of advertising and marketing.
You could waste a lot of money if you do not understand the target market well. Ultimately, you won’t even know if your marketing campaigns have been successful. So, you adopt the wait-and-see attitude to know if you will get a conversion or sale. Data-based decisions and processes are a sure recipe for success.
Business Optimization And Importance of Data Analyst
Business optimization requires a good understanding of all the internal processes. In that way, you can make critical adjustments if necessary. Indeed, this is one of the key areas that business data analysts emphasize. Their job is to identify areas or techniques that require modification.
There may, for example, be some processes that are taking up a lot of resources. Yet you cannot identify tangible ROI. Business data analyst skills come in handy in determining such parameters. The company can then make data-based decisions on the best way forward.
Business optimization also covers such fields as:
- Best advertising and marketing strategies to use based on the target market.
- What type of goods to produce with an understanding of the market and what customers want?
- Upcoming market trends from predictive analytics. The company can use the information for new business opportunities and help with inventory, where to invest resources, etc.
- Financial analysis for better resource allocation.
- Best practices to better utilize resources and cut down on operational costs.
- An assessment of historical data to identify loopholes or areas needing improving upon.
With business optimization comes higher efficiency and streamlining of actions. The company can expect significant savings in the future.
Better Customer Service
Another importance of data analyst in a business is that they provide improved customer service. You can have an excellent offer of products or services. Yet, you find that you are unable to retain customers. The answer may lie in finding out what your customers feel, making sentiment analysis one of the critical skills of a data analyst.
To draw insights, sentiment analysis looks at opinions, texts, thoughts, or objectives. Indeed it goes beyond only what the customers say as feedback. The analysis lets the business know if the perception is positive, neutral, or negative. That provides a sound basis to improve, change or continue with what currently exists.
Better customer service also means being proactive. And that requires data analysis skills like predictive analysis. The business uses data to determine how customers will likely behave in the future.
The same applies to trends analysis to know what will be popular within the next few months. That way, the company will find it easier to fulfill demand. They can also recommend products to customers even before they ask.
Also Check: Top 10 Best Online Data Entry Jobs Sites That Pays Well
Final Thoughts
So, the importance of data analyst in a business can not ignored. Data analysts play a crucial role in any business. Indeed, if you look at core services, this one should top the list. Any decision taken by a company is backed up by evidence of data. Yet, someone has to go through all the information to get relevant insights.
Data analyst skills demand will continue to rise in the modern, competitive business environment. If you already took this career path, you should not be struggling for job opportunities. Sign up to the online data job platforms and let the employers come to you.
Also Check: Data Fabric – What It Is and Why It Matters?
Images by Philipp Falkenhagen, Tumisu and Mohamed Hassan
