In our rapidly evolving and increasingly uncertain global environment, the need to be cloud-and data-ready has never been so vital.
As part of the tech world, cloud and data can be notoriously difficult to wrap your head around. Even those who do understand the space often find it difficult to convince a non-technical audience to see what they see.
The constant use of buzz words doesn’t make it any easier either. Phrases like “actionable insights” and “data-driven decision making” are used in an effort to quickly explain the benefits to a business when best practice cloud and data is implemented.
But what do these words actually mean to your organisation? What tangible business results can you ultimately achieve when you make “data-driven decisions”?
To simplify cloud and data – and the outcomes they can potentially deliver to your not-for-profit – we have put together a brief collection of the types of decisions we have enabled our not-for-profit clients to make after launching them on their cloud and data journey…
We will hire and train 300 volunteers in March to meet winter demand
When you capture and collate data from previous years, you can make educated forecasts about future needs. This includes data that shows which periods see an increase in customer demand, and how many people you have previously required to meet that demand.
In using data to make decisions such as this, you reduce the risk of not having enough people to meet demand or wasting money training too many people who won’t be needed.
Most of our major contributors live in these postcodes, so we will concentrate our marketing here
Organising facts and figures about your major contributors help you build a realistic profile of your ideal contributor. This includes where they live, what mediums are most effective in reaching them, and what types of messages are most likely to appeal to them.
In doing this, you are able to develop strategic and targeted marketing campaigns that deliver a better return on investment.
We must on-board 100 new customers this quarter, because our data shows we are likely to lose 60 existing customers in the same time period
Do you know how many customers come and go from your organisation every week, month, quarter or year?
Our clients can readily see their customer churn rate via their analytics dashboard. This is based on previous data showing how many new customers are booked versus how many customers stop doing business with the organisation (either because the service has come to a natural end, or they have moved to a competitor).
These insights help inform decisions ranging from recruitment to marketing to financial forecasting.
Our highest ROI actually comes from our least expensive marketing avenue, so we will divert more funding there
Understanding the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns is crucial to attracting new customers and contributors while cutting unnecessary costs.
What if you knew that 80% of new donors came from 20% of your marketing spend? Would it cause you to re-think your marketing plan and how funds are directed?
These are the types of decisions you can make quickly with trusted data at your fingertips.
We can organise volunteers in these groups to maximise their time and service to customers
Nothing turns volunteers away faster than inefficiencies and bottlenecks. You can use data to analyse where services need to be delivered and then orchestrate your volunteers accordingly.
This keeps your volunteers productive and happy, and ensures you are utilising them to achieve maximum benefit for your organisation and customers.
Fast track your cloud and data journey
Getting started on your cloud and data journey does not need to cost a fortune or take years to implement.
Microsoft has recently announced the Accelerated Cloud Modern Data Warehouse for NFP’s to support not-for-profits in moving their organisations into the 21st century.
