Businesses have faced an onslaught of challenges in recent years and things have never been more competitive with businesses all fighting for survival, with increasing costs, regulatory pressures, and complex supply chains. Efficiency, accuracy, and timely business decision making have become key drivers for success or failure. Running a business, large or small, involves making numerous decisions every day from deciding when to place the next stationary order to implementing vital growth strategies for the business.
“There are costs and risks to a program of action, but they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.” President John F. Kennedy
When it comes to making decisions, advancements in technology have helped to pinpoint accuracy over guesswork, but even so, it can be hard knowing where to start. But one thing is certain: standing still is not an option!
Let’s explore our 8 top tips for making smart business decisions.
Prioritising decisions that need making is a vital first step, as failure to do this will result in all decisions being treated as equal and the most critical won’t be analysed with the attention and care needed.
Ask yourself some of the following questions; why do we need to make a decision? What are the costs of this decision and will the benefits outweigh the costs and effort involved? Who else needs to be involved in making the business decision and what resources are needed?
Within any decision-making process it is fundamental to remember your short- and long-term goals and never lose sight of the big picture. With your goals in mind you can then start to put decisions in place. I.e. a short-term goal might be to increase your customer base by 15%, whereas a long term goal may be to expand your product portfolio and enter a new marketplace.
Investing in a robust reporting solution should be paramount to any business operating within a competitive business environment. A good quality reporting solution will give you business information at your fingertips, so you know exactly what is happening within your business at the click of a button. It can pinpoint areas that need attention and highlight areas for improvement.
You should never rush into decisions without conducting thorough analysis, but at the same time, taking too long to make decisions can be detrimental too. Remember that your competitors are also making decisions and moving forward.
Remember the reason you hired your employees and seek their opinion on decisions – it will boost morale and you may get some insights you could have otherwise overlooked.
As you decide which business decision to choose, considering each potential outcome is crucial. This allows you to determine the potential advantages and disadvantages of a potential business decision and whether advantages outweigh the disadvantages in the long-term.
It’s inevitable that you won’t get every decision right, but you can always learn and use it in the future for decision making. Turning data into action is key.
Equipping your business with the tools you need to make decisions is key, but there is little point harnessing data if you don’t use it sensibly. The tips outlined within the blog post above are all tangible ways to improve your business decision making as a collective approach. In competitive business environments it is vital to make fast, accurate business decisions before your competitors do, otherwise you will be left behind.
For more information about the business intelligence products from Pegasus, please contact us to speak to a member of our team.
Posted On: February 15, 2024
