The number of data sources available is growing every day. For many companies, this is leading to the struggle to make sense of this data and data overload. In the meantime, several providers of business intelligence services are offering the promise of actionable insights. However, the term 'actionable insights' is fast becoming overused - more often than not, being substituted for what is actually just data and information.

One of the things that successful business leaders share between them is their reliance on proper actionable data that helps them take their more important decisions. Whereas before, collecting data was a difficult and time-consuming operation, today it is very easy and, in fact, the more challenging part is interpreting the data collected. However, no business is too small to apply insights from data for its own advantage.

Data helps leaders make smarter decisions about where to take their companies, from finding new customers to increasing customer retention, improving customer service and apply more effective marketing strategies, track the engagement on social media and make better sales predictions. It also helps companies solve problems and see performance.

Actionable data helps improve business processes to reduce wasted money and time. Inefficiencies could cost companies anywhere from 20-30 per cent of their revenue each year. So much more could be achieved by a company if that money could be utilised on customer retention or product development. Data insights could also avoid you bad advertising decisions - one of the top ways companies waste most money - and help you achieve better return on investment.

In order to understand what actionable insights are, we must truly understand the meaning of data, information and insights. The three words are not synonymous with each other. Data is raw, unprocessed facts. It is quantitative and measured or qualitative and observed. It is recorded factual material. The majority of data is contained in a digital format and normally lives in spreadsheets or databases.

Information is processed, aggregated and organised. It provides context and is typically presented in the form of visualisations and reports.

Together, data and information set the stage for the discovery of insights. Insights are generated by analysing the information and drawing conclusions. Finally, insights drive decisions and change. You may place the three analytics terms in a hierarchy pyramid with data at the foundation, information in the middle and insights at the apex.

Nevertheless, not all insights are actionable. Actionable insights are highly treasured outputs of the work that goes into collecting, preparing and analysing meaningful data. So what makes an insight actionable? There are six attributes one needs to consider when examining how actionable data is. These attributes can help to weigh how actionable an insight is. There are alignment, context, relevance, specificity, novelty and clarity.

Alignment ensures that an insight is closely tied to a key business goal, instilling a sense of urgency in driving the insight to action. It is easier to convert strategically aligned insights into tactical responses because they often relate directly to the KPIs in your business that you are focused on.

Make sure to establish context for the data you are seeing. Data without context lacks meaning and any insight can end up raising more questions than action. Having supporting details at hand ensures that the data is interpreted in the right way and the resulting insight drives action.

Data is always open to interpretation and different people interpret data differently. A single insight could act as a strong signal for one person whereas for another person, the same insight could mean nothing. Like most of the information that is being thrown our way each day, there is a level of subjectivity when it comes to interpreting and giving relevance to insights. For an insight to be relevant, it needs to be delivered to the right decision-makers in a timely manner and within the right setting and context.

Insights must be specific and complete before they are acted on. An insight may need to be probed deeper to adequately explain why something has occurred before it can become actionable.

Novel insights speak out more than familiar insights. An unfamiliar pattern is more interesting and captivating than a trend we have seen 10 times over. Moreover, the insight becomes even more compelling if you feel you already have a good handle on what is driving the behaviour. Nonetheless, it is critical to avoid falling into the trap of novel insights that may not actually have value.

Any insight can be overlooked and forgotten if it is not understood in its entirety. Effective communication of insights through the right data visualisations and messaging is crucial. The more easily understood and correctly interpreted an insight is, the easier it will be to action it.

Harvesting more insights from the data you have available can yield tremendous returns for your company. Additionally, no matter the source of the insight, the more it lines up with these attributes, the more actionable it will be for your business.