For foodservice industry professionals, having access to reliable and accurate data is essential. Trend insights can help inform decisions such as menu innovation, restaurant expansion, sales prospecting, and marketing initiatives. In the past, market analysis often required manual, labor-intensive processes; however, advancements in data technology now allow companies to build out their own custom sales trend databases. These databases enable companies to generate insights from data points that are tailored to their products, industry and target audience.
This article will explore the top 10 things that businesses should consider when creating their own custom sales trend database. We’ll cover proper data collection methods, the importance of keeping databases up-to-date, data analytics processes, and more, so you can gain a better understanding of the sales trend landscape.
1. Gather Clean Data
Before beginning to build a sales trend database, it’s important to ensure the data you’re collecting is accurate and reliable. Poor data quality can lead to faulty insights and erroneous decisions. To maximize your database performance, use clean data that is organized into distinct categories.
Make sure to keep all of your data up-to-date as well; old or irrelevant data can give misleading results. Additionally, if you’re sourcing data from various sources, define the specific data parameters you need to accurately match and identify valid sales trends. Collecting data from multiple sources can require additional effort, but it’s worth the extra time if you want to ensure the quality and accuracy of your final results.
2. Leverage Automated Data Processing
Taking advantage of automated data processing technologies can help with the speed and accuracy of your sales trend analysis. Automated approaches are often times much more efficient than manual methods, and they can also be easily scaled up to handle large datasets. Automated data processing systems can also help you maintain the integrity of your data, by capturing and correcting erroneous data points.
3. Utilize Data Visualization
Data visualization is a key component of sales trend databases, as it helps convey complex information in a concise and visually engaging manner. A great data visualization tool can accurately and effectively demonstrate market trends and other insights about customer behavior and preferences. By leveraging data visualization in your sales trend database, you will gain valuable insights that can help guide decisions related to marketing, product development, and even staffing.
4. Model Your Data into Actionable Insights & Strategies
Building a custom sales trend database is about more than just collecting the data; you will also need to interpret and model the data in order to derive useful insights. By breaking down complex data into actionable insights, companies can better understand customer behavior and preferences, localization trends, and more. Utilizing these insights can help companies design strategies for product innovation, marketing campaigns, sales initiatives, and more.
5. Focus on the User Experience
Another important element of building a sales trend database is creating an intuitive and user-friendly platform. By optimizing the user experience, your team will have an easier time comparing data points and understanding market trends. Whether you’re building a platform from scratch or using an existing system, make sure that the interface is easy to navigate and understand.
6. Customize Reports
Your sales trend database should provide personalized reports that are tailored to your specific needs. A great reporting system can allow users to customize their data analysis based on their own criteria. Reports should answer key questions about the data and display insights that can be used to inform decision-making.
7. Utilize Predictive Analytics
Data analytics tools are essential for analyzing sales trend data. Predictive analytics can help companies identify hidden patterns and trends that may otherwise go unnoticed. By leveraging predictive analytics, organizations can better anticipate customer needs and better identify opportunities.
8. Monitor Your Data Securely
Data security is an essential part of a custom sales trend database. The data in your database should be monitored and stored securely to ensure that only authorized personnel have access to confidential customer and financial information. Implementing proper security protocols will help guarantee the safety of your data and ensure that your team can rest easy, knowing that their data is secure.
9. Scale the Database
The sale trend database should also be able to handle large datasets. If you are collecting data from multiple sources, you’ll need to make sure the database can handle increases in data size. Additionally, scalability is important if you plan on expanding your data collection and analysis over time.
10. Invest in a Reliable Provider
Finally, when building a custom sales trend database, it’s important to work with a reliable and experienced provider. Make sure to research the reviews and certifications of any company you are considering working with to ensure that they can meet your needs and deliver high-quality results.
