Beyond the Dashboard: Drive Action through BI
Author: Dino Chioda, Global Head of Analytics
Business Intelligence (BI) tools like Looker help businesses shape raw data into actionable insights, empowering employees to make data-driven decisions. With such tools, we can build beautiful dashboards, explore data with ease, and finally feel like we’re harnessing the true potential of our data.
But is creating a report truly the goal, or is there some greater value that can be generated from your efforts? Too often, the journey ends at the dashboard, leaving a gap between understanding and action. Defining data workflows that extend beyond your BI tool could be the next frontier of value creation.
While a report reveals the “what” and perhaps even the “why,” it rarely dictates the “how” or the “next steps.” True data-driven organizations bridge this gap by integrating their BI tools into broader workflows that automate actions and drive tangible outcomes.
Defining data-driven workflows is essential
They drive action: A dashboard showing a dip in sales is valuable, but a workflow that automatically alerts the sales team and triggers a targeted marketing campaign is transformative. Extending your workflow allows you to move seamlessly from insight to action, closing the loop and maximizing the impact of your data.
For example, If a customer abandons their online shopping cart, Looker can trigger an action to send a special discount or offer to the customer who abandoned their online shopping cart, encouraging them to complete the purchase.
They improve efficiency: Manual processes are slow, error-prone, and don’t scale. By integrating your BI tool with other systems, you can automate repetitive tasks, freeing up your team to focus on strategic initiatives. Imagine automatically generating reports, updating CRM systems, or even triggering product recommendations based on real-time data.
For example, a Looker dashboard might identify high-potential leads based on website activity, demographics, or product engagement. An action could automatically push these leads to a CRM (like Salesforce or HubSpot) and assign them to specific sales reps based on territory or expertise. This automates lead qualification and distribution, improving sales efficiency.
They foster collaboration: Workflows that extend beyond the BI tool ensure the right information reaches the right people at the right time. This could involve automatically sharing dashboards with relevant stakeholders, assigning tasks based on data triggers, or even integrating with project management tools. For example, data triggers in Looker could automatically create tasks in project management tools (like Jira or Asana) for specific teams to address.
They speed up response time: In today’s fast-paced world, reacting to data in real-time is crucial. Data-driven workflows enable businesses to set up alerts and triggers based on specific data points, allowing users to respond to changes in the market, customer behaviour, or operational performance with agility.
For example, Looker can analyze sensor data from equipment to predict potential failures. An action could automatically schedule maintenance or alert technicians before a breakdown occurs, minimizing downtime.
They leverage governed data: By defining clear workflows, you can improve data governance and ensure data consistency across your organization. This includes defining clear roles and responsibilities, automating data validation processes, and ensuring compliance with relevant regulations.
Best practices for implementing data-driven workflows
Implementing impactful data-driven workflows isn’t rocket science but there are a few moving pieces to consider:
- Focus on Concrete Use Cases: Start by identifying specific business challenges that can be addressed by extending your data workflows. Focus on areas where automation and real-time responsiveness can make the biggest impact. And don’t forget to define the right KPIs to measure impact and success.
- Integrate with Other Systems: Connect your BI tool with other relevant systems, such as your CRM, marketing automation platform, project management tools, and even your operational systems.
- Leverage APIs and Webhooks: Most of these integrations rely on APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) or webhooks provided by the upstream systems. The ability of a BI tool like Looker to connect to these APIs is crucial.
- Define Clear Triggers and Actions: Establish clear triggers based on specific data points and define the corresponding actions that should be taken.
- Monitor and Optimize: Implement robust error handling to ensure that actions are executed reliably and that any errors are logged and addressed. Continuously monitor your workflows to ensure they are performing as expected and make adjustments as needed.
Conclusion
Beyond the pretty dashboards and insightful reports, lies the true power of data: the ability to drive action. By extending your data workflows beyond your BI tool, you can unlock this potential and transform your organization into a truly data-driven powerhouse.
Want to learn more? Watch our recent webinar where we discuss the value of combining Looker + GenAI.
As an award-winning Google Partner with extensive experience with Looker, Datatonic can help your organization define and implement secure, effective data-driven workflows. Get in touch to start your next project.
