Month: August 2022

Data-driven company and data-driven business culture

Posted on by Gabriella Massara

There’s a lot of talk about a data-driven culture, and we at Biscuitway, as Growth Consulting, are among the biggest proponents of this approach.

However, I want to ask you a fundamental question: are you sure your company can truly adopt a data-driven culture by embracing data governance, analytics and strategies?

A data-driven company also relies on data to make daily decisions

You start with the assumption that every day you potentially collect all kinds of data and you start to ask yourself, how do I use all this data effectively?

Essentially, there are a myriad of data, both scientific and empirical. Having a data-driven business means consulting it to manage every aspect of the business organization.

So, for data-driven companies, what is commonly called data management is not just a technical aspect, but a real strategic key to the entire business.

Bringing a culture of data to all levels of the company is the right way to make sure you are guided by the numbers to make sound decisions based on objective facts and not your personal feelings. Have a doubt? Check out big data!

What the hell is big data?

I know, we’ve been talking about Big Data and how it is useful for business for years, but then you always find yourself asking: what data? Where do I find it? How much is it?

When talking about big data, people often only think about the volume of data to be accessed, but there are also five other Vs that can help you make the data valuable.

In fact, in 2001, Doug Laney, then Vice President and Service Director of the Meta Group company, described in a report the 3V Model of Big Data: Volume, Velocity and Variety. Today, however, we speak of the 6Vs of Big Data because the previous paradigm has been enriched by two more variables: Veracity, Variability and Value.

A data-driven company will therefore have to look at data against these variables:

  • Volume: capture, process and store even large volumes of data in a scalable way for growing business needs, with data from human and machine sources.
  • Speed: the flow of data is often vast and continuous and requires platforms and capabilities that can not only handle significant volumes, but also manage this flow in real time.
  • Variety: the integration of different data into a manageable structure is the key to a solid big data opportunity.
  • Trueness: being able to identify the relevance and accuracy of data and apply them to the appropriate purposes.
  • Variability: manage and contextualise data in a way that provides structure, even in unpredictable and variable data environments.
  • Value: understand the potential to create revenue or unlock opportunities through your data. This reflects the results you apply to your use of data: if it is not valuable, then why and when do you keep it?

How to Adopt a Data-Driven Business Strategy: Put Data at the Centre of Decision Making

Do you have a data analysis team? Well, if you don’t have one, it’s time to set one up. If you do have one, are the members of that team the only ones who see and analyse that data? And are other departments left out?

It sounds like you need to have a bunch of people to spend their time on this alone: but if you are a start-up can you invest everything in this data analysis? Of course not! But you certainly have to impose this fundamental rule on yourself:

Make data-driven decisions in all departments in order to have a broad view of what is working and what is not.

This is why all companies, even those with different businesses, rely on data in making every decision. But it doesn’t end there, remember:

Align your company culture with all departments to maximise insights. Creating a culture where everyone appreciates how data brings value will ensure that internal/external processes and company culture are aligned with maximising insights.

This process starts with the top management, those people who are supposed to pilot this new process before it is disseminated among the entire staff.

When decision-making is data-driven, company or departmental focus group discussions improve.

How to build a data-driven team

One thing that is extremely necessary is to surround yourself with the right talent.

Build a culture that gives credit to data science and management. A data-driven staff is highly valued in today’s job market and, above all, is able to achieve results faster.

This means that hiring the right workers, especially those who can analyse data, is important. When hiring, always look for candidates who are comfortable with data analysis skills.

Moreover, individuals who by nature embrace data are open to what this methodology can teach them. This is also a very important trait for what are other inputs, such as customer and management feedback, qualitative research and user testing: also fostering a feedback-driven culture and User Satisfaction.

In fact, if data in business decision-making is necessary, it should also be done on the basis of an all-encompassing view of business goals, rather than on the analysis of numbers alone.

If you make decisions based only on numbers and figures, you are neglecting the intuition of your staff members and ignoring the experiences in the field with their successes and/or failures. These types of input are indispensable additions to quantifiable analysis.

It doesn’t end there, once you have chosen the right people the real work begins:

  • Support the professional development and training of your team and remember that the current skills of your employees must always grow.
  • Take note of improvements and always test processes.
  • Everyone must be fully trained on standard procedures and the consequences of not adhering to data security and privacy measures.

The culture of failure in the data-driven approach

Be careful, mistakes can and always will occur. It is unavoidable!

No success is achieved in a vacuum: establishing a culture that makes people feel comfortable to fail is the healthy way to set up a data-driven strategy.

Success is the goal, no doubt, but failure is part of the expectation.

The people inside your company are the greatest assets, but success also depends on the people outside: the customers/users.

When adopting strategies, ensure that they are people-centred (both externally and internally). A data-driven company must be a data-driven company for the benefit of people.

It all comes down to a better customer experience, in relation to using your company’s product, or directly from contact with your employees.

Un caffè può far crescere la tua azienda

Success is within reach. All you need? The right people to help you and the desire to succeed!

A comprehensive growth strategy could be exactly what your company needs to improve turnover, retain customers and enhance your performance.

ACompany Builder as Biscuitway could be the real turning point.

Our strength is the method gained from years of experience. We firmly believe that working closely with companies, becoming part of their team and guiding them step by step through digital processes, is necessary to achieve a quality result that unites all the vertical competences of each department.

This is because awareness is at the heart of innovation: the data-driven approach, the cross-fertilisation of ideas, different experiences and competences across sectors enable new perspectives on projects in their entirety, identifying innovative, alternative, ameliorative paths.

Do you think so too? Have a coffee with us to get to know each other better!

How to build your digital brand identity in 5 steps

Posted on by Gabriella Massara

Digital brand identity: why do you need it?

Tough times for those who fail to stand out, especially online. Did you know that your brand image is the most persuasive business card there is to attract potential customers? That’s why in this article I will explain how to build a digital brand identity for your business in 5 steps.

The web is that fascinating and unpredictable place that offers great opportunities to companies able to exploit its boundless potential to improve their online visibility. Just as powerfully, it throws those who do not know the rules of the game into oblivion.

The risk of quickly falling into neglect and ending up being lumped in with hundreds of other businesses that mistakenly thought they had the idea of the century is more than concrete.

If, when asked the question “who should I target?” your company is the first option in the mind of a potential customer, it means that your brand identity is working great.

If not, you had better continue reading.

Where to start when building your digital brand identity?

Building a brand identity from scratch is no mean feat. First of all, creating a brand identity is not limited to the creation of a logo or image.

A strong identity for your brand makes your target audience recognise the values of your company, enabling it to become the main reference point for certain worldviews shared by users.

Capture attention, convert it into interest and create a bond with your audience: let’s see how to build your digital brand identity in 5 moves!

1. Know your target audience

Identifying the target audience you want to address and the goals you want to achieve are the first steps of effective brand building.

To do this, it can certainly be useful to analyse the strategy of your competitors:

  • How do they present themselves?
  • What values do they carry?
  • Which social media do they prefer?

Knowing your competitors’ approach gives you some important pointers: it can help you understand how your brand identity may differ from others and how to create a message that makes you different from them.

People are the core element of your strategy: after you have identified those your competitors are targeting, it is time to build your own target audience! Here you will need to build an ideal model of what the audience interested in your brand might be.

The identity of a brand is nothing more than the dialogue it is able to establish with those it addresses. For this conversation to be successful, you have to know your interlocutor!

Only after you have gathered the useful information that will allow you to get to know your potential customer, can you start laying the foundations for the creation of your brand identity.

2. Be recognisable

In this phase you will have to put all your originality into motion. From the creation of a logo to the construction of a real message: nothing should be left to chance.

It will be important, therefore, to have a clear value proposition that effectively expresses your company’s image. Clearly stating your objectives will allow you to directly and unambiguously convey the values that your business will stand for.

Your value promise should represent a point of contact between you and the expectations of your target group. We could speak of a kind of compromise whose aim is full satisfaction for both parties.

The ideal value proposition will have the ability to:

  1. be understandable by anyone at first glance;
  2. present concrete and measurable results, even better if supported by data;
  3. distinguish itself from its competitors.

For your message to be effective, you need to give the brand a convincing look.

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The visual aspect must be able to communicate immediately what is not said. Images, colours, material objects: each element serves to express the essence of your brand.

Precisely for this reason, you should pay close attention to the care of your logo and brand name. Originality and creativity are winning weapons, but don’t forget to keep it simple and incisive!

The name must be immediately understandable and leave no space for confusion. The best thing you can do, if your brand does not yet have one, is definitely NOT to copy names already used by others.

Keep your mind focused, jot down some ideas and try not to be trivial!

When thinking of a suitable name for your brand, you should not overlook the logo it should go with. From the font, which should be as personalised and simple as possible, to the colour palette, nothing should be left to chance.

Speaking of colours: did you know that some are better suited to your communication needs than others? Each shade represents different emotions, so your task will be to find the ones that best suit the message you want to convey with your image.

If you wanted to give your brand a sophisticated look, your choice could be colours such as purple or black; to send a message expressing positivity and exuberance, yellow and orange tones would be more appropriate.

These are of course examples; there is no fixed rule expressly forbidding the use of certain colours in certain circumstances. The important thing is to be clear about the emotions you want to focus on and to avoid using too many colours.

Just like the name, the logo also needs simplicity. That is why it is essential to have one that fits and is readable everywhere: on the website, on social media and in print.

3. Tell your story

People like listening to stories.

As the narrative gets closer to their personal lives and experiences, more your potential customers will be interested in listening to you.

Impactful brand storytelling can really make a difference when it comes to creating a strong and shared identity. The values and principles you want to convey will gain strength if there is a narrative to support them.

A product that is completely identical to others will only stand out because of its ability to arouse emotions in the target audience.

Have you ever thought about the reasons why Apple or Ikea became leaders in their respective fields? The quality and aesthetics of the products are important, but they are not enough to account for such success.

Consumer perception does: people do not so much rely on the product as on the idea they have built around it.

The representation of scenes that could very well be part of everyone’s experience, the propensity for inclusiveness, the openness towards the other: these are some of the factors that have led these companies to create a very strong bond with their audience, to the point of outperforming adversaries whose product quality is nothing less than theirs.

In case you’re wondering: yes, the moving narrative in which a child realises his dream of feeling big by gaining centimetres in height thanks to the adaptability of Ikea furniture is much more effective than it sounds!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EK5yeWxtYQ&ab_channel=IKEAitalia

To be able to sell you need to be able to attract, but first of all, involve!

4. Promises kept

Nobody likes liars or inconsistent people.

Whatever type of emotion you want to arouse, it must be authentic and supported by the correct tone of communication, which must be as in line as possible with the message you intend to convey, as well as maintaining its consistency over time.

If your promise of value is not fulfilled, your brand will inevitably lose credibility. Cheating is not an option! So be as authentic as possible and avoid lying to your audience, because sooner or later they will discover you.

What you absolutely must NOT do is to launch messages that are not in line with what is stated as your brand’s mission. This only confuses your audience, with counterproductive outcomes that in some cases may lead to customers abandoning your brand.

5. Elaborate your communication strategy

At this point what you have to do is ‘simply’ spread your message. How to do this?

Let’s start with an assumption: you most likely cannot do this alone. You will therefore have to refer to professionals with different kinds of technical and creative skills.

Structuring a website in which no detail is left to chance, which entices every visitor to return to it with the prospect of becoming a customer, is by no means easy. Likewise, trying to position oneself in SERPs correctly requires certain skills that not everyone possesses.

It doesn’t end there: in addition to getting people to find your website, you must also make sure they stay there. This is where content marketing comes in, which must present original and quality content, as well as social media marketing, through which you will be able to create different strategies for the various social media in which you decide to move (and even here, do you know which ones you need to work on?).

In short, going it alone does not seem to be the best option. If you want to succeed, you can’t just stay afloat with makeshift means, you have to choose an experienced crew!

Build your digital brand identity in 5 steps… Plus one!

That’s why you need a Growth Agency to help your brand grow in every aspect. Thanks to the diversified professionalism and expertise within its ranks, BiscuitWay is committed to realising your digital brand identity in all its components: dall’ideazione dell’immagine aziendale al design del logo, dal pay off al copywriting e così via.

Whether you have a clear plan in mind, many confused ideas or none at all, it doesn’t matter! BiscuitWay takes care of your business from A to Z, enabling you to achieve an image that speaks about you in a coherent, sincere and attractive manner.

Contact us, we’ll work out how to build your digital brand identity in 5 steps!

E-commerce: what your customers really want on your site

Posted on by Gabriella Massara

An e-commerce is certainly not always easy to build and manage. There are so many things to do that if you are inexperienced you can easily lose your way and literally ‘go crazy’ to keep up with sales, orders from suppliers, payments to be made and to receive.

It is therefore essential to make sure that you have a solid foundation for running a complete online shop and that you really know what the key elements are that should not be ignored.

What does my customer really need in my e-shop?

The best way to really understand what your e-commerce is missing and what needs to be added is definitely to examine it from the point of view of a visitor to your site.

That’s right, let’s start at the beginning: when your user visits a shop what does he do? What is he looking for? What does he need?

But that’s not enough: how does he get to buy? What does he need after he places the order? Indeed, it is crucial to understand how a company like yours can excel at every step of the process in order to achieve success.

Obviously, we at Biscuitway know that building an e-commerce from scratch is an arduous process and, moreover, according to our ‘tailor-made‘ vision, each e-commerce is unique, but here you will find some general tips that will lay a solid foundation for your e-commerce business.

Users in your e-commerce pay attention to design

A number of old marketing theories will tell you that you should not focus too much on attractive or unattractive, but on what does or does not perform. Who am I to tell you otherwise? But what I am telling you is that in order to make a business run, design is important:

  1. design is not just about ‘graphics and aesthetics’ because, when it is done correctly, it is based on a solid study and design approach focusing simultaneously on the needs of the user and the company’s business;
  2. a good website design shows that there is a solid and serious company behind the screen;
  3. a good design helps the user to reach his purpose as easily as possible;
  4. good design helps your company increase conversions.

You want proof? Well, have you ever entered a disorganised, dirty shop with a very uninviting atmosphere? How did it make you feel? You certainly weren’t dying to spend all your money there!

On the other hand, have you ever entered a clean, spacious shop with a very comfortable atmosphere? I’m sure the attractiveness of that shop will have made its way to your heart and… your wallet! If you think about it, it is the Apple Store strategy: doesn’t the tidiness, the cleanliness, the simplicity of the space give you the feeling that it is a well-run shop, that the company cares about its customers and offers better products?

Apple store

Hence, there is no doubt that the design of your website has an impact on your business and that good design must be a priority for you! Do you agree?

E-commerce websites must be fast

The loading speed of a web page has a huge influence on the conversion rate.

What’s one extra second or one second less? It may not seem like a big deal, but it can mean hundreds (sometimes thousands) of lost sales for a company. Do not underestimate the impact of speed.

No user wants to wait for the page to load if they have an army of e-commerce competitors who can sell them the product they are looking for ‘before you do’.

page speed speed of the ecommerce website

Do you want to know if your e-commerce meets speed standards? Take a test with Google PageSpeed Insights and find out what you are doing wrong!

In addition, speed also affects the ranking of your site in search engines, so pay attention to loading, especially from mobile!

In your e-commerce you need a selection of products

We have already talked about what to sell and how to find the right products for your e-commerce, but let’s try to shed some more light!

Obviously, most start-ups and SMEs cannot afford to have a selection of products like giant marketplaces such as Amazon, AliExpress o Zalando. On the contrary, sometimes giving too wide a choice can actually cost you sales. Thus, it is wrong to think that having a huge selection of products is the key to success. Sometimes limiting your selection can:

  • enable customers to quickly find what they are looking for;
  • prevent customers from having a real ‘decision paralysis’;
  • increase conversions by naturally limiting the number of clicks before buying.

This means that product selection must be carefully considered and strategic.

Your customer wants clear and comprehensive product pages

I don’t want to dwell on this. A good product page must have:

  • good quality images that bring out the details in all angles and the totality of the product; and if you want to do it really well, add a mini video too!
  • The price clearly visible (no, hiding the price is almost never a good strategy, although in some cases it might be irrelevant: maybe we will talk about that in the future!).
  • A short and effective description that is informative and persuasive at the same time. Not sure what to write? Professional copywriters exist for exactly this reason!
  • Good SEO optimisation.
  • The CTA to add the product to the shopping cart and/or purchase clearly visible.

“Just” this? Well, yes!

In your e-commerce, pay attention to what happens in the shopping cart and during checkout

The customer has come this far: he has visited your website, viewed your product selection, chosen a product he wants to buy and placed it in his shopping cart. It’s done!

Not really. The abandoned cart monster is around the corner!

How could all the work done on your e-commerce be ruined now? I’ll tell you a few ways:

  • unexpectedly high shipping costs;
  • do not accept certain payment methods;
  • roblige users to create accounts before ordering.

How to remove these three problems?

For unexpectedly high shipping costs, you can publish the shipping costs on the product page or home page. This eliminates the surprise of a high shipping cost and allows the user to take the total cost into account before adding it to the cart.

The minimum is to accept credit cards and, in some cases, bank transfers, and cash on delivery. Want to impress everyone? You can also accept Bitcoin and use cryptocurrencies. Yes, indeed! And if you want to be among the first to do so, thanks to our partners, we have the solution for you, contact us and we will tell you more!

bitcoin

Finally, requiring users to create accounts before placing an order does not benefit the user so it could be a blocking element and create distrust of your brand. It is better to allow users to create an account after placing an order.

Never skip after-sales service

After-sales service plays an important role in customer satisfaction and retention, playing a key role in strengthening the connection between the brand and its customers.

Also, never forget that a satisfied and happy customer speaks well of your product, influences those close to him, which means more awareness, reliability and revenue.

Therefore, keep in touch with customers even after the sale via e-mail, chat, IM and social media.

Receive feedback on products and services from customers. Feedback helps the organisation to get to know customers better and to incorporate the necessary changes for better customer satisfaction.

In your e-commerce you need expertise

At Biscuitway we have a infallible method that allows us to build an ecommerce that reflects all of your user’s needs. Our experience in the field ensures that a solid foundation is laid for your online business, from market analysis, planning, design, product research, to technology development and go-to-market with strategies tailor-made for you.

When it comes to the future of your e-commerce, don’t leave it to chance, trust the professionals. Let’s have a coffee together!