Unlocking growth How data can help your business get into shape for expansion - Let's go forward - Barclays
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Unlocking growth How data can help your business get into shape for expansion Let’s go forward
Introduction
Data is a hot topic for business. There’s But whether discovering the reasons behind
excitement around its undoubted potential, as investment-stifling cashflow difficulties, spotting
well as a sense that company leaders could be emerging opportunities before rivals do, or
making much better use of it. understanding your customers’ deeper desires,
Uncertain
data can be the fuel for expansion – and can help
economic
Data protection regulations coming into force put you ahead of the competition.
outlook
this year are also helping to bring it to the
forefront, as well as encouraging businesses to
Admin time
Only 17% of SMEs are
run a tight ship when it comes to security. The confident they can Competition
new regulations also act as a prompt to think
about data more broadly. 17% identify investment
opportunities for 32%
growth in 2018 of SMEs
It’s a prompt that could be needed. In a new
22%
35%
Barclays survey of British SMEs, only 13% said
they made use of all the data their business It’s interesting to see that, the bigger the of SMEs
holds. Just 29% say they use some of their data. company, the more it uses data. of SMEs
Key SME growth
Only 13% of SMEs Our survey shows that a fifth of businesses with challenges for 2018
a turnover of less than £1m make use of some of Late Cashflow
use all the data their
13% business holds, and
just 29% say they use
the data their business holds. That increases to
45% for businesses with a turnover above £10m.
payments
some of it By allowing you to get under the skin of your Costs
business – and your customers – data enables
Yet a similar number – 27% – said they used data you to be more effective against competitors, 16%
to inform their business decisions, a possible more confident in investments and more efficient 18% of SMEs
indication that, for those that have discovered the across the board. of SMEs
power of data, there’s no going back. For others,
this report shows why that is. “It’s possible to run a business without using 22%
data, but you will be at a disadvantage,” says of SMEs
It focuses on unlocking growth opportunities Dan Posner, Director of Business Propositions at
for your business – and 53% of SMEs want to Barclays. “And there’s a simple reason for that.
grow in 2018. The problem is that only 17% are Businesses that use data are able to make better
confident they’re able to identify investment decisions.”
opportunities.How data can support growth
Data can provide you with the opportunities you need to target growth more effectively.
Here are 3 key areas where it can support your business.
Boosting Improving marketing Finding new
competitiveness performance opportunities
There are a number of ways that data analysis The more data you have to analyse, the more Sometimes growth ambitions can be thwarted
can help improve competitiveness. More effective your marketing decisions can be. because businesses miss hidden opportunities.
accurate forecasting is one, allowing you to Data can help by giving deeper insights.
make better production, purchasing and staffing Analysing where your web traffic is coming
decisions that maximise opportunities and from – search, social etc – allows you to allocate “One way this works for a B2B business is if
minimise costs. marketing resources more appropriately, while it can identify not just what items are selling
monitoring traffic and sales spikes can help you best, but the particular characteristics of the
Clever use of data can also show you whether to time offers and promotions more effectively. businesses that are buying them,” says Dan. “It
aspects of your performance are as good as they means that it’s better able to target companies
should be. But data lets you go deeper too, potentially that are more likely to buy.”
allowing you to reach particular customer profiles
“For example, your data may be able to show you at particular times. This could help to increase There’s a flip side to this too, allowing the
the average length of time it takes to get paid by revenue growth, because you can make it less business to work out whether it relies too
customers,” says Dan. “From that information, likely that you’re offering promotional deals to heavily on a certain type of customer and needs
it’s possible to benchmark against competitors. people who’d otherwise be happy to pay full to diversify.
If it’s taking you a lot longer to be paid, then they price.
clearly have an advantage over you in terms of And for many businesses, having systems that
money being available to invest in their business.” You can also use data to analyse how successful give constant feeds on sales trends can be
your marketing campaigns are. Figures on invaluable in spotting opportunities early and
Knowing this can allow you to be more confident email opening rates, corresponding sales rises, getting ahead of competitors.
in taking action, such as being stricter with increases in web traffic and many more can all
customers, or you might consider using invoice be crunched and compared against previous “You can use this data to make decisions on
financing. Whatever action you take, getting campaigns, giving you vital information on whether to expand a line, or whether you need
money into the business more quickly improves how to refine your efforts for optimal return on to get another supplier to meet the demand,”
your ability to target growth. investment. says Dan.Understanding your customers
The more a business knows about its customers, to certain behaviours. For example, if you’re able But businesses can sometimes find it a challenge
the better equipped it is to find new opportunities to spot that a particular customer – or group to access all of this information quickly and
for growth. Data can help businesses to create a of customers – is increasing average spending easily. One tool that could help is SmartBusiness
more complete view. levels, you may be able to capture an opportunity. Dashboard, recently introduced by Barclays.
Information on website and in-app behaviour, Similarly, if you notice a worsening pattern of key You can connect over 30 apps that your business
store visits, purchase histories, marketing payment dates being missed by customers, it may already be using to see at-a-glance
summaries of key information across core areas
engagement, social media activity, customer can help you to make decisions on credit levels
such as cashflow, sales, inventory and marketing
service requests and much more can help you which, ultimately, saves money for the business.
– all in one place.
to build up accurate pictures of your customers
that can be used to deliver key insights into what, Social media can provide a rich seam of insights
when, how, and why they’re likely to buy. too, with businesses able to see much more
detail on what their customers really think.
Data can also help you to improve the way you Knowing how you’re doing on customer
manage your customers, helping you respond satisfaction can help to reduce your attrition rate.
Using data to control cashflow
Dan Posner, Director of Business Propositions, Barclays
Cashflow is king for any business, To do that, don’t just look at Use data to get deeper insights Use software that gives you a full
but there’s a lot of data out there cashflow. Work out what your on who you’re selling to and overview of your business. Even
and you need to consider what cashflow drivers are, then be what they’re buying. Identifying software that’s only a few years
will specifically help yours relentless about making sure you patterns can help you to identify old might not be able to show
have data coming in all the time new revenue streams or raise how all aspects of your cashflow
on those metrics warning flags ahead of time are performingGrowth outlook: sector-by-sector
Retail Manufacturing Hospitality and Leisure
In the cut-throat world of retail it’s encouraging The majority of SME manufacturers (59%) Many SMEs in the hospitality and leisure sector
to see that the majority of businesses want to want to grow their business over the course of (49%) are still hoping for growth in 2018 but,
grow in 2018 (57%) – and maybe data can 2018. But only a quarter are prepared to invest with competition in the sector rife and the
help them. in growth financially, as an uncertain business economic outlook for the year decidedly unsure,
outlook looms. it’s perhaps no surprise that optimism appears
to have been curtailed and only a third (33%)
Just 26% of SME
It doesn’t appear to be a lack of money for expect to achieve it.
26% retailers use data
to inform their
investment that’s holding them back, with only
9% of SME manufacturers citing this as a growth
business decisions challenge. But a third (34%) said that uncertainty Only 17% of hospitality
Currently, just 26% of SME retailers are using
data to inform business decisions, yet some
was a challenge, and 30% blamed competition in
the market. 17% and leisure SMEs
use data to inform
business decisions
of the areas in which they say investments 30% of SME
or improvements would make them feel manufacturers say
more confident in their growth are marketing
effectiveness (34%) and customer insights
(26%), as well as personal efficiency and
30% competition is a
growth challenge for
Yet just 17% of hospitality and leisure SMEs
are using data to inform their business
decisions, despite 34% saying improvements or
business efficiencies (25% for both). 2018 investments in marketing effectiveness would
help them to feel more confident about growth
As for specific growth challenges this year, 46% What’s encouraging is that many SME in 2018.
of SME retailers cited competition in the market, manufacturers are using data, with 15% saying
while 40% said the high costs of doing business they use all the data their business holds, In addition, 24% say improvements or
are a negative factor, and an uncertain outlook is 42% saying they make use of some of it and investments in customer insights would help
a growth challenge for 43%. 32% using data to inform business decisions. confidence in growth – another area where data
There’s further potential too, with 20% of SME analysis can drive meaningful results.
manufacturers saying they could grow the
business if they could make better use of it.How to use data to grow
Gather the Resolve Find opportunities Expand
right tools business challenges with insight with confidence
Take a data-driven Use data to get a grip on Find insights from hidden Be more confident in an
approach cashflow and the key drivers spending patterns uncertain environment
behind it
Make sure you have Learn more about customers Spot opportunities ahead of
up-to-date software Boost your business and by analysing shopping, the competition
personal efficiency with time- browsing and social data
saving dashboards and better Make strategic decisions
operational management Make marketing more based on facts
effective through data-driven
performance insights
Case study: Growing with data
• Stonegate Medical Clinic opened • This allowed David to better prioritise
in February 2016 with one major and be more reactive to what was
challenge – having no patients and happening in the business, even
needing to grow when out of the office
• Founder David Grabowski says that • The next target is further growth,
data was being produced but it was and David says that having data
difficult to monitor on a daily basis easily available has helped him to
think more strategically and feel
• The business then started using the more in control
SmartBusiness Dashboard, which
enabled it to see key information in
one placeKey takeaways
1. Data can be a powerful tool in helping you to grow your business, yet many UK SMEs are not using it effectively
2. Data analysis can help you to build a platform for growth because it can help to make existing business operations –
including cashflow, marketing, and operational planning – more effective
3. Data relating to shopping, browsing, spending, customer and other patterns can help you to find new opportunities
4. Confidence is key when considering growth investments, and data can help support strategic thinking by putting
hard facts behind assumptions
Statistics in this report are based on a survey of 1074 SME decision makers, conducted 8th –16th January 2018
For more information, please contact your local Business Manager or visit barclays.co.uk
This document has been prepared by Barclays Business Banking, a division of Barclays Bank PLC (“Barclays”), and is provided to you for information purposes only and may be subsequently amended, superseded or replaced. Barclays accepts no liability whatsoever for any losses arising from the use
of this document or reliance on the information contained herein. The accuracy or completeness of any information herein which is stated to have been obtained from or is based upon any third-party sources is not guaranteed by Barclays. All opinions and estimates are given as of the date hereof
and are subject to change. The information in this document is not intended to predict actual results and no assurances are given with respect thereto. Copyright in this report is owned by Barclays (Barclays Bank PLC, 2014). No part of this report may be reproduced in any manner without the prior
written permission of Barclays. Barclays is a trading name of Barclays Bank PLC and its subsidiaries. Barclays Bank PLC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (Financial Services Register No. 122702).
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