Data is King

I recently read an article on DATA and it reminded me of the business we are in.

We think we write “Reservation Systems” that help customer manage their business better via automation and consistent communication. And this is a powerful change for any small business customer. But at the heart of everything, is the data:

• What trips are booking best? 
• What are my top 10 customers, top 25, top 50, etc.?
•  Which customers took a trip in the month of May, that live in 1-hour dive area?
•   What were my sales last week, last month,  by each tour run, etc.?

These are just a few of the data sets that we can “mine” for customers.  We all think we know our business, but do we really have the cold hard facts, the data?

Big versus Small

All the big companies depend on data and it is part of their infrastructure. For many big companies, DATA is the business. Google obviously is focused on data in all aspects. Amazon tracks your activities, and markets to you based on the data collected. But what are all the small companies doing? Probably nothing at all.

You don’t have to from 0 to 60 miles an hour, but you do have to start making a move to track your business and eventually, market based on your customers wants and needs.

What are you waiting for?