Rob Wood — October 5, 2017 — October 5, 2017
Clker-Free-Vector-Images / Pixabay
Services companies have an incredible opportunity for growth via the power of Business Intelligence (BI). With a financial model based on billable hours, the ability to analyze not only a client’s billing details, but all associated costs required to maintain that customer in a single view is invaluable. Compared to the typical error-prone manual processes and merging of disparate data sets, a flexible, graphical dashboard is far superior.
Imagine the increased value you receive when all your disparate systems’ data is tied together and compiled into useful reports with rich graphics and the ability to easily customize it based on your viewer. It enables you to make more informed decisions across your organization on things like targeted customer acquisition, prioritizing markets, employee productivity, and more.
Uncover Your Most Profitable Clients, Identify Target Markets, and Maximize Billable Hours.
Evaluate each client based on key data that indicates how many hours your team expends on them per project, how their rates compare to other clients, average time to pay, number of customer service calls, etc. Having all this information in one dashboard provides a clear and complete picture of the value of this client. Additionally, it’s easy to compare clients to each other to determine commonalities in those that are most profitable.
Evaluating detailed client data over time will paint a clear picture of the overall revenue received vs. time/cost expended. You might discover that the amount of time spent on resolving customer issues for customer X negates the huge profit you thought you were making on their account. Similarly, you can gain a lot of useful information for defining target markets by analyzing your customer base. For instance, you may discover a trend that shows financial services clients require an excessive amount of time with your legal staff, making them far less profitable than, say, companies in the insurance industry.
Slice and dice information surrounding each employee’s activity and identify adjustments that can maximize billable hours. You will be able to see number of hours worked, distribution of time across clients, billable rates, likelihood of each associate to upsell additional services, and more. Compare this data easily with other employees. You determine which metrics you see and how it is compiled in your customizable dashboard.
The possibilities for building reports are nearly limitless. They are only limited by the systems you integrate and your creativity. Here are some common examples of how companies leverage the intelligence available from BI:
- Identify Opportunities to Improve Profitability
- Target New Markets
- Track Revenue by Channel
- Maximize Billable Hours
- Identify Your Most Profitable Customers
- Compare Sales by Region
- Track Marketing Conversion Rates
BI puts the power in your hands. Start a discussion in your organization today.
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