Sales Analytics & Reporting

Objective of Service

The key to improving is analysing. Sales analytics refers to the practices and processes used by a business enterprise to collect, study, and analyse business data to improve its sales and the efficiency with which the sales are achieved. It is done through sales analytics software applications/platforms. Every year, these tools are getting more advanced and sophisticated offering high-end analytical features in a matter of a few clicks. And with the benefits of sales analytics, businesses are on a constant lookout for the best sales analytics tools.
Through this service program, DFX offers sales analytics advisory and consulting services to all businesses across verticals.

Importance of Analytics:

• What is sales analytics? Sales analytics refers to the practices and processes used by a business enterprise to collect, study, and analyse business data to improve its sales and the efficiency with which the sales are achieved. Traditionally, businessmen used to rely on their judgement and experience to figure out which products/categories sell more, who their ideal customers are, what their sales turnover is, how customers respond to pricing and discounts, etc. Today, these assessments are done through sales analytics software applications. These are digital applications/software platforms where businessmen can access and analyse the sales and related data of their business to derive meaningful insights to further improve the sales performance of their business. If you own an eCommerce business, it might be pertinent for you to ask – how can online businesses use data analytics to increase sales? If you are a brick and mortar business, the question is still as relevant. A few broad benefits of sales analytics are highlighted below.
• Sales analytics lead to improved decision-making and strategy formulation. Businessmen can derive a host of sales insights by using analytics and then use it for better decision-making and strategy formulation in a wide number of areas like product selection, merchandising, purchase and inventory management, promotional strategies, and vendor selection. For instance, if goods supplied by one particular vendor are not preferred by customers (not generating sales), the order quantities can be optimized. Or say, if certain product categories do not perform well in certain regions, the inventory levels can be optimized accordingly.
• Analytics help in improving the efficiency of the sales function. Every business function/department needs to be efficient with what it achieves or tries to do. The same applies to marketing and sales. So, a relevant question at this juncture is – are the sales being achieved efficiently? Typical investments/expenditures involved in running a sales function include payment of salaries, allowances, incentives, promotional activities, price discounts, etc. The sales generated must justify these expenses. Sales analytics helps businesses analyse their sales performances against the investments/expenditures made and make necessary adjustments to improve the efficiency of their sales function.
• Analytics leads to better marketing. Businesses put a lot of effort into marketing and advertising to generate sales for their new and/or existing brands, products and services. But do those marketing strategies yield the intended results? Analytics help businesses assess the effectiveness of their marketing strategies and make alterations in them based on their assessment. In this age of digital marketing, analytics is just what the doctor could have possibly prescribed. Analytics also make it possible for businesses to real-time monitor the impact of their digital marketing campaigns on sales conversions. It helps them alter their strategies on the go before pouring in further resources.

How Sales Analytics is helping organisations?

• Identify performing and non-performing aspects. All businesses aim to maximize their return on investment. This applies to efforts put into sales as well. Products, brands, regions, channels and other aspects on which sales can be measured do not perform at the same level. Some products do better at a certain time of the year or some others only in certain regions. Some brands are trusted more in certain regions than others. These insights on performing and non-performing aspects in terms of sales are critical for businesses to channelize their efforts towards the more rewarding areas or make alterations to their strategies to generate more sales in the promising segments.
• Better understanding of customer behaviour. It is the business of every business to understand their customers with increasing precision. Sales analytics helps here. Let us understand this with the example of a departmental store. The store could determine at which hours of the day it experiences the maximum footfall. It could also determine which brands are more popular with customers in different product categories. If it wants to introduce a discount policy, it can run a pilot project and do a sales data analysis for the trial period to see if discounted pricing has any bearing on the overall sales of the store.
• Better demand forecasting. Based on past sales data and predictive analysis, businesses can remain cognizant of forthcoming market demand and prepare themselves accordingly. The insights gained from predictive sales analytics can be further used in purchase planning and booking with suppliers and logistics partners. With inventory requirements on the charts, businesses can also make the most out of their spatial infrastructure.
• Achieve better ROI on digital marketing campaigns. Nowadays businesses spend a significant chunk of their revenues on digital marketing campaigns. Given the importance of digital visibility, many businesses also take the paid route options like SEM, social media influencers, paid and sponsored posts on popular social media platforms, etc. Even the in-house efforts are not free. Thus, businesses also try to keep a tab on the ROI achieved through their digital marketing campaigns. Analytics help businesses assess the impact of their marketing campaigns on sales generation.

Why DFX for Sales Analytics Advisory?

DFX represents an expert team of professionals with over eight years of experience. We offer sales analytics advisory and consulting services to all businesses across a multitude of verticals. Our team follows a planned, proven, and systematic approach in delivering these services towards securing the best solutions for our clients.