The 10-Step Guide to Develop a Successful Business Intelligence Strategy

In order to compete in today’s business world, it is essential to have a successful business intelligence (BI) strategy. Whether you’re a blockchain game company, real estate agency or healthcare provider, BI is key for your business to survive and thrive. BI itself is the process of gathering, analyzing, and reporting on data that helps you make better business data-driven decisions.

All of the data can help you improve your organizational performance, increase efficiency and even make more profits. That said, just like any business venture, a BI strategy must be carefully planned and executed in order to be successful.

In this step guide, we will walk you through the process of developing a successful BI strategy for your business.

Step #1 - Understand Your Business Goals and Needs

The first step to developing a BI strategy is to understand your business goals. What are you trying to achieve with BI? Do you want to increase sales, reduce costs or improve customer satisfaction?

The goal here is crucial to determine which KPIs (key performance indicators) you will track and what type of data you will need to collect. Once you have a clear understanding of your goals, it will be much easier for you to develop an effective BI strategy.

Step #2 - Define Your Priorities

After you have understood your business goals, the next step is to define your priorities. What are the most important areas of your business that you want to focus on?

Remember, you can’t do everything at once, so it is important to focus on a few key areas. Once you have defined your priorities, you can start mapping out your BI strategy.

Step #3 - Define Data Collection and Analysis Methods

After you have determined your goals and priorities, the next step is to define how you will collect and analyze data. There are a variety of methods you can use to collect data, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups and observations.

Once you have collected data, you will need to analyze it in order to make sense of it. There are a variety of methods you can use to analyze data, such as statistical analysis, regression analysis and correlation analysis.

Step #4 - Conduct Data Gap Analysis

The next step is to conduct a data gap analysis. This will help you identify what type of data you currently have and what type of data you need to achieve your goals. The data gap analysis also makes it much easier for you to develop a plan to collect the data you need.

Step #5 - Define Your Outcomes

After you have conducted a data gap analysis, the next step is to define your outcomes. What do you want to achieve with your BI strategy? Do you want to increase sales by 20%, reduce costs by 30%, or improve customer satisfaction by 40%? It is important to be specific when defining your outcomes so that you can measure and track your progress.

While goals are important and more general, outcomes are specific and measurable. This will help you track your progress, make necessary adjustments to your strategy along the way, and determine whether or not your BI strategy is successful.

Step #6 - Create a Roadmap

After you have determined your goals, priorities, and how you will collect and analyze data, the next step is to create a roadmap. The roadmap should include milestones and deadlines for each step of your BI strategy.

Creating a roadmap will help ensure that your BI strategy is on track and will help you make necessary adjustments along the way.

Step #7 - Choose the Right BI Tools

Once you’ve gathered and analyzed your data, it’s time to choose the right BI tools. There are many different BI platforms and software available on the market, so it’s important to choose the one that best fits your needs.

You can get the most from your BI tool when you understand what you want your raw data to reveal and how you want to present it. The key is to find a BI tool that makes it easy for you to transform your data into actionable insights.

If you’re not sure which BI tool to choose, you can always consult with a BI expert or analyst. They will be able to help you select the right platform and software for your business goals.

Step #8 - Implement and Test Your BI Strategy

The last step is to implement and test your BI strategy. This is where you will put all of your plans into action and see if they work.

You will need to track your progress and make sure that you are meeting your goals. If you do not see the results you want, don’t be afraid to adjust your strategy.

It’s important to keep in mind that BI is a continuous process, so you will need to regularly review your data and make changes to your strategy as needed.

Step #9 - Garner User's Feedback

After you have implemented your BI strategy, it is important to get feedback from users. This will help you determine what is working well and what needs to be improved.

After data gathering, new data may be discovered, or source systems may have been upgraded or migrated. This could impact the entire strategy. Users' feedback allows for a greater understanding of how the tool is being used and if changes need to be made.

Step #10 - Make Changes to Your BI Strategy

Based on the feedback you receive, you may need to make changes to your BI strategy. This could involve changing the way you collect and analyze data, changing the tools you use, or making changes to the way you present information.

You should also continue to review your data on a regular basis and make changes to your strategy as needed.

Angela Ash is an expert writer, editor and marketer, with a unique voice and expert knowledge. She focuses on topics related to remote work, freelancing, entrepreneurship and more.