How accurate is predictive analytics? Is it worth using for my business? How can forecasting and prediction help me in such an uncertain environment? These are all valid questions and they are they are questions your business (and your fellow business owners) must grapple with to understand the value of planning and analytical tools.
While predictive analytics is based on historical data (and, of course, things have certainly changed over time), and you might argue that today is nothing like yesterday, there are many other benefits to the augmented analytics predictive analytics environment.
These tools allow the organization to apply predictive analytics to any use case using forecasting, regression, clustering and other methods to analyze an infinite number of use cases including customer churn, and planning for and target customers for acquisition, identify cross-sales opportunities, optimize pricing and promotional targets and analyze and predict customer preferences and buying behaviors.
All of this sounds good, doesnt it? But, it still doesnt address the issue of predicting the future in a changing environment. What good is historical data in todays chaotic business environment?
Here is just one example of how assisted predictive modeling might help your business and your business users:
While the future is hard to see, your business CAN look for patterns and deviation to understand what HAS changed over the past 60 or 90 days or over the past year.
Users can hypothesize and test theories to see how things will change in market demand and customer response if trends continue, if the economy declines or if there is more disposable income. For a restaurant, that might mean that the recent trend toward takeout and curbside delivery might continue, even after the global pandemic has passed. People have just gotten used to the convenience of take-out meals and how easy it is to have them delivered or to order online.
For employers, the trend toward remote work might continue as businesses look at the cost of rent and utilities for an office or facility and weigh those expenses against the benefits of remote working. Remember, history does not have to be five years ago. It can be as recent as last month!
Thats where forecasting and planning come in. You can look at what is happening today and see how it has impacted your business and hypothesize about how things will change next month or next year.
If your business sees the value of forecasting, planning and predicting in an uncertain environment and wants to consider predictive analytics, contact us today to get started, and explore our bonus content here.
