Don't Fear the Data! How to Use it to Make Smarter Decisions

While the term Big Data might make you nervous, it shouldn't. Yes, we have a flood of data available at our fingertips, but don't let it daunt you. Instead, know the information you actually need to care about and use it, then trash the rest.

Why Data is So Darn Important

Let's say you are trying to decide where to put more money and attention for your next marketing effort to sell your product. In the past, you've tried LinkedIn ads, but they didn't generate many sales. You did better with the free download you offered customers (there was an offer in that download for your product). You can look at your sales data from each of these efforts to decide that you want to create a new download, since you had success in the past. Or maybe you want to try another channel like social media or banner ads that you haven't tried before.

We've all made decisions based on our guts before, and it's not always a bad thing. But when it comes to something as important as your business (or your money) you want to ensure that you make the most informed decision based on the information that's available to you.

Know Which Data Matters

Here are a few of the data metrics that might be important to you:

• Web Traffic

• which sources send the most traffic to your site
• which pages people spend the most time on
• how fast do people leave your website

• Sales

• which products are selling the best/worst
• what price point people respond best to

• Marketing

• which marketing channels net the most leads and sales
• which marketing channels have the best ROI

If you're trying to make a decision about what to do to increase sales, for example, look at all the factors to identify the data that is most relevant to your decision. Past sales data, product information, and your marketing channels will all play a part in what you decide.

Use the Force (to Benefit From That Data)

Data isn't just for tech heads and scientists. Every business owner can benefit from it and use it to improve their operations.

Melinda F. Emerson, SmallBizLady is America's #1 small business expert. She is an author, speaker and small business coach whose areas of expertise include small business start-up, business development, and social media marketing. She writes a weekly column for the New York Times, publishes a resource blog, www.succeedasyourownboss.com, which is syndicated through The Huffington Post. She also hosts a weekly talk show on Twitter called #SmallBizChat for small business owners. As a brand, she reaches 1.5 million entrepreneurs a week on the internet. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. Forbes Magazine named Melinda Emerson one of the #1 Woman for Entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. Melinda has been featured on MSNBC, Fox News, NBC Nightly News and in Fortune, The Washington Post, USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Black Enterprise. She is the bestselling author of "Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works," and the ebook How to Become a Social Media Ninja; 101 Ways to Dominate Your Competition Online.