Introduction
A groundbreaking survey conducted by Keywalker Co., Ltd., based in Minato, Tokyo, revealed significant insights about the utilization of sales data among sales professionals, including managers and planning roles. This study, aimed at understanding the current challenges and support needs in data utilization, attracted responses from 1,004 professionals in the field. Despite the growing recognition of the importance of data in enhancing business operations, the report indicated that nearly half of the participants felt they were not leveraging sales data effectively.
Key Findings
Limited Utilization of Data
The survey sought to gauge the progress made by sales departments in utilizing data for business improvement. The responses showed a concerning trend:
- - Only 26.1% reported regularly analyzing and integrating data into their operations.
- - 21.3% utilized data for specific tasks but relied heavily on personal judgment.
- - 21.2% felt they could not harness data adequately.
- - 31.4% admitted not using data at all.
These figures suggest that less than one-third of sales professionals have truly integrated data utilization into their practices, pointing towards the need for significant improvement.
Focus on Short-Term Metrics
Further analysis on what data sales departments observe daily revealed a strong inclination towards short-term, quantitative metrics such as:
- - Revenue (47.8%)
- - Number of deals (42.2%)
- - Achievement rate (34.8%)
While these immediate performance indicators dominate the focus, crucial long-term metrics like customer lifetime value (LTV) and churn rates are often sidestepped, revealing a potential oversight in customer-centric strategies.
Barriers to Data Utilization
When asked about their biggest challenges in data utilization, sales professionals cited the following barriers:
- - The inability to translate collected data into actionable analysis (28.1%)
- - Variances in data literacy across team members (21.9%)
- - Inadequate capabilities to extract or process desirable datasets (20.5%)
It appears that while there is a recognition of the importance of data collection, there is a disconnect when it comes to transforming this data into actionable insights. Furthermore, existing tools and data setups may be too complicated for efficient use in practice.
Demand for Practical Support
In this context, the survey explored the type of external support deemed necessary to enhance data visualization. The most pressing need identified was:
- - Proposals and support for leveraging data to boost revenue and improve performance (37.7%).
- - Technical assistance for system and data infrastructure integration (26.8%).
- - Ongoing support to ensure effective utilization of these data structures (23.4%).
Sales personnel are evidently in search of targeted assistance that leads to tangible results, rather than mere implementation support.
Future Directions
Insights were also gathered regarding the future evolution of data visualization within sales departments. Respondents suggested that tools should:
- - Enhance the speed of managerial decision-making (35.4%).
- - Provide insights beyond visualization, indicating actionable next steps (34.1%).
- - Enable sales professionals to independently access and utilize essential data through dashboards (33.4%).
This indicates a clear necessity for data systems that not only visualize data but also guide users on effective actions to take based on insights.
Conclusion
Overall, the survey underscores a significant gap in the effective usage of data within sales departments. While there is a foundational understanding and some progress made in data collection and visualization, far fewer companies are able to translate this into improved outcomes. Short-term performance indicators dominate focus, leaving long-term customer metrics largely ignored. Solutions need to facilitate actionable data usage, supported by comprehensive external assistance, to drive better outcomes. As companies strive for enhanced data utilization, evolving the framework for visualization to include actionable insights will be crucial.
For more detailed findings, including the challenges faced in sales data management and the impact on businesses, interested parties can download the full white paper from Keywalker’s website. Additionally, Keywalker provides cutting-edge tools like Tableau solutions for beautiful and intuitive data visualization, and web scraping tools like ShtockData for comprehensive data handling.