By Juliet Umeh, edited by Prince Osuagwu

Running a business in Nigeria can be an arduous task because business owners face fierce competition as they strive to secure market share, acquire new customers, and enhance their productivity and profitability.

And for business owners to be able to face the increased competitiveness, a data analysis expert, Mr Kehinde Ogundare, has challenged them to use data-driven insights to inform business decisions and facilitate a successful customer experience.

According to Ogundare who is also a Country Manager at a technology company, Zoho Nigeria, “The growth of a business, whether it offers a product or service, is closely linked to its customer base.

“In order to remain competitive and retain these customers, it is crucial to use data-driven insights to inform business decisions and facilitate a successful customer experience.”

He noted that they understand data analytics

Ogundare: “In the simplest terms, data analytics is about making sense of all the data that a business gathers, and using it to help the business improve its decision making or to gain insights into a particular subject or problem.

“It enables entrepreneurs to make profitable decisions, drive innovation, anticipate market trends, and manage budgets.

“However, a report by KPMG that analyzed the usage of data and analytics in Nigeria’s business environment reveals that 56 percent of organizations in Nigeria base their decision making on intuition rather than data.

“This shows that businesses are yet to grasp the true potential that data can bring to decision making.

“Another report highlights that, on an average, organizations plan to spend at least N50 million annually to develop data and analytics capabilities, indicating potential for businesses seeking to integrate these practices.

“However, just 16 percent of organizations have a defined role for their Chief Data Officer, and many merge data analytics responsibilities with the Chief Financial Officer, CFO, highlighting a talent gap,” he said.