2020: the year of many unpleasant surprises, such as mandatory lockdowns and a limit on the number of people permitted in our favorite shops and restaurants. Although we have come a long way since then, it’s still critical to be ready for any unforeseen circumstances that can arise. Even while there is uncertainty, you can still forecast and plan. In actuality, running a business in uncertain times calls for more frequent forecasting and a more adaptable approach to change.
Business planning and forecasting are ongoing processes for well-run businesses. Data from business forecasting, business intelligence tools, market research, and scenario planning form the foundation of every process and decision. To help them develop effective long-term strategies, businesses concentrate their efforts on finding techniques to forecast market trends.
Some business projections are based on relatively complex statistical techniques, whereas others are based on knowledge and historical data. Others just go with their intuition. The fact is that all businesses depend on business forecasting, regardless of how they go about making their forecasts.
What exactly is business forecasting?
The process of projecting future market circumstances using business intelligence tools and forecasting techniques to examine past data is known as business forecasting. Businesses use forecasts to set goals, targets, and project plans for each new period, whether quarterly, yearly, or even over a two- to five-year planning period.
See business forecasting as trying to compile a weather report. We’ve all been there: you’re organizing the next BBQ, and you want to make sure you choose a date when it won’t rain since that would be such a bummer! Like a business, it can take a great deal of preparation as far as how to compile a plan.
Say you run a skincare business. You know that some areas of your life are prospering while others are not. You don’t believe your sales of the mint chocolate chip scrub are performing all that well. What became of the lovely scrub you created that evening at your kitchen counter? Forecasting for business is then useful. Forecasting assists managers in directing strategy and reaching knowledgeable conclusions on crucial business activities, including sales, expenses, income, and resource allocation.
Forecasting in business can be qualitative or quantitative. While quantitative business forecasting only focuses on data analysis, quantitative business forecasting draws on market research and subject-matter specialists.
Quantitative forecasting
When precise historical data is available to determine the likelihood of future events, quantitative forecasting can be used. This approach extracts patterns from the data that enable more likely results. Quantitative forecasting can employ both internally collected data, like sales figures, and externally collected data, such as census information. In general, quantitative forecasting aims to link many factors to create cause and effect connections that the business can profit from.
Qualitative forecasting
The judgment and viewpoints of shoppers and professionals serve as the foundation for qualitative forecasting. If you don’t have enough historical data to draw any statistically meaningful conclusions, this business forecasting technique may be helpful. In such circumstances, an expert can assist in putting together the available facts you do have to attempt to derive a qualitative prediction.
When there is limited information available regarding the future of your industry, qualitative business forecasting might be helpful. If historical evidence is irrelevant to the unexplored future you are approaching, relying on it is pointless. This may be the case in cutting-edge businesses or when a previously unheard-of market constraint, like a new tax regulation, comes into play.
The significance of business forecasting
When the future is uncertain or a significant strategic business decision is being made, business forecasting is essential. The business will have more success moving forward the more it concentrates on the likely scenario.
The process of business forecasting
- The measures that a business forecaster should generally take are as follows:
Identify the problem or question that your business forecasting efforts are intended to solve. For instance, you might be interested in determining whether your business will be able to meet the demand for products during the upcoming quarter (such as, say, that well-known peach foot mask that your skincare company sells). - List the datasets and variables that must be taken into account. In this instance, data sets like sales records from the prior year and factors associated with production, capacity, and demand planning.
- Select a method for business forecasting that adapts to your dataset and forecasting objectives. That depends on whether your issue or question can be resolved through the use of a qualitative, quantitative, or mixed approach.
- You can proceed to calculate future business performance based on the examination of historical data. Take into consideration that the quality of your data will determine how accurate your business forecasting is.
- Find the difference between your business’s anticipated performance and actual performance. Keep track of your discoveries and enhance your business’s forecasting procedure.
Business forecasting approaches
The two primary categories of business forecasting techniques are qualitative and quantitative, as was stated earlier. Below, we’ve compiled a few of the more prominent forecasting models from both sides:
Delphi method
This method of qualitative business forecasting entails assembling a group of subject-matter experts and seeking their input on a single issue but preventing them from knowing each other’s viewpoints. This is done to avoid bias, which enables a manager to compare the perspectives without bias and see whether there are any trends, areas of agreement, or disagreement.
Market research
Customers’ actions and responses to a particular good or service are evaluated using a variety of market research methodologies. Some of those techniques for conducting marketing research gather and examine both qualitative and quantitative information, such as digital marketing metrics.
Time series analysis
This form of business forecasting, also referred to as the “trend analysis method,” simply calls for the forecaster to examine previous data in order to spot trends. Because outliers need to be eliminated, this data analysis method needs statistical analysis. In order to more accurately reflect the situation of the business today, more recent data should be given more importance.
The average approach
According to the average approach, the mean of the historical data represents the average of all future values. It might be said that this technique is a form of quantitative forecasting because it depends on historical data. This method is frequently used to forecast unknown values since it enables calculations based on historical averages, under the assumption that the future will mostly resemble the past.
The naïve approach
The naïve approach is the most economical and is frequently used as a comparison point for more sophisticated approaches. Only time series data with forecasts made equal to the most recent observation are used in this method. This strategy is beneficial in fields and industries where it is improbable that historical trends will repeat themselves. The most recent observed value may prove to be the most instructive in such circumstances.
Business forecasting elements
Create the foundation: You need to establish a system to look into the current economic climate before you can start forecasting. To more accurately forecast sales and overall business operations, this covers your industry, its current state, and its top selling products.
Analyzing anticipated business operations: The estimation of future circumstances, such as the direction that events are expected to follow in your industry, comes next. Once more, this is based on data that has been gathered to assist in making quantitative predictions for the size of operations in the future.
Forecast regulation: Any forecast you make needs to be compared to real outcomes. Finding departures from the norm can only be done this way. The causes of those deviations must then be determined in order to take corrective action going forward.
Examining the forecasting procedure: Improvements are made in the process by looking at the discrepancies between forecasts and actual performance data, which enables you to polish and check the quality of the data.
Data sources for forecasting
Only the data you use to make your forecast will determine how accurate it is. Before gathering data, consider the following:
Why gather data?
What sort of data?
When should it be collected?
Where can it be collected?
Who will collect it?
How is it going to be gathered?
These are the concerns that will help you build your strategy for data collection, an essential component of business forecasting. When you have a plan in place, you can gather information from several sources.
Primary sources
First-hand information from primary sources is frequently gathered via reporting techniques. These are the ones that either you or the person in charge of the task will personally collect. If there is no primary data available, you must collect it yourself using observations, surveys, or interviews.
Secondary sources
Secondary sources include information that has been published or compiled by others. This comprised official government reports, books, financial statements from banks or other financial organizations, company annual reports, and periodicals, including journals, newspapers, and magazines.
Conclusion
Are you looking for a reliable tool to perform business forecasting? Look no further than FTx! One of the best aspects of our point of sale is that you can use our carefully honed suggested order algorithms to gain valuable insights into your sales activity and precise purchase forecasts. You can assess the strength of your sales and identify areas for improvement to help with your future planning. Curious to learn more? Give one of our specialists a call today, and we’ll get you started!
With FTx, you can always be enthusiastic about the future and well-prepared.
Danielle Dixon
Danielle is a content writer at FTx POS. She specializes in writing about all-in-one, cutting-edge POS and business solutions that can help companies stand out. In addition to her passions for reading and writing, she also enjoys crafts and watching documentaries.