Serving Our Clients With Report Data

With information coming at us in all directions, those companies who find ways to create reported data for their clients will always be a step ahead of their competitors.

Growing up, it was all about that report card. We wanted to see the final report of our efforts, (lack of efforts) in a particular class. That grade helped guide us in selecting a college, career, indicated potential strengths and weaknesses. It was a way to take raw data and create a performance report.

Whether you sell a product or a service, it is critical that you start building reports both internally and externally to communicate this information out to people. Reported data has value and can be used to make decisions. This is where we are headed. We are starting to see bits and pieces of these reports but imagine if you were able to see the information reported to you.

Some Company Examples – How companies could give back with reported data to their clients.

Bank – If every transaction was categorized like every purchase on coffee, gasoline, clothes, etc. Today, if a person wants this information, they have to take the time and put it into a software program and keep track of the data manually. Imagine if banks offered this type of service and showed it on their monthly statements. Some credit cards report information by category already today.

Kohls – Everytime you shop at Kohls, the cashier makes it a point to highlight the savings you received with your purchase. Imagine if you actually had the ability to see this information over a whole year. Again, I could do it, if I took the time to do it manually, but I don’t.

Internally – I have started tracking more and more information.

• Google Analytics – Looking at data over a set time frame. Measuring number of hits, locations, mobile technology and more.
• Number of new accounts – I keep close count of how many new accounts were opened each month and for the year. Calculate how many new accounts per business day were opened.
• Projects – What projects were requested, started, completed, in process? How long is it taking to complete projects
• Phone calls – How many phone calls do we receive? Are there trends throughout the year.
• Number of website inquiries – How many questions submitted online were answered?
• Working on Productivity Numbers – Revenue per employee
• Visitors to our company.

The point here is data is more than just collecting information on people. Somewhere, somehow we need to report the information back to our own managers and employees and ultimately to our clients. Clients are always looking for numbers to help them make decisions.

Reports take raw data and organize it in a way that helps explain the way we conduct business and serve each other.

If we are going to be part of this “Big Data” phenomenon, we better start using the data in a way that helps advance our companies going forward.

Image courtesy of Patrisyu at FreeDigitalPhotos.net