New in Databox: Predict Future Performance With Metric Forecasts

How many deals will you close next month? How many website sessions will you get? How many impressions will your social channels get? 

When you don’t know what your performance will be, it’s hard to set realistic goals, craft a plan, or have the right team in place. You might not be able to predict the future, but now you can forecast it.  

With our new Metric Forecasts tool, you can view historical data and seasonality, and calculate highly accurate predictions of your most important metrics. Say goodbye to guesswork and start making more confident, data-backed decisions. 

Let’s get started!

Make Better Plans and Decisions

Making the right decisions for your business means knowing what might happen in the future. That’s where Databox Forecasts come into play. 

Forecasts use historical data and machine learning to understand past trends and provide educated guesses on what the future might look like. While they can’t guarantee exact outcomes, Forecasts can help you: 

• Plan for the future: Forecasts offer valuable insights into upcoming opportunities and challenges. You can use this knowledge to make more informed decisions and chart a clear path forward. 
• Anticipate demand and seasonal trends: Using past data, Forecasts can help you uncover patterns and fluctuations in customer demand. This will help you confidently navigate market shifts and make sure your products or services remain relevant, regardless of changing trends. 
• Optimize budget and resources: Make sure your budget and resources are used where they matter most. 
• Align teams and stakeholders: Help everyone in your business understand where it’s heading in the future. With this, you can make sure your entire organization is working together towards common goals. 
• Set more realistic goals: Align your goals with what’s achievable. Using forecasted values, you can avoid setting overly ambitious goals and increase your chances of success.
• Gain a competitive advantage: Make informed decisions that set you apart from competitors.

All Features

Metric Forecasts provides a simple graph that makes it easy for anyone to forecast future performance. But that’s not all – 

• Easily forecast any metric with at least 12 months of historical data. No unnecessary limitations – just valuable insights into the metrics that matter most to your business. 
• Include Data Stories, easy-to-read summaries of your forecasted metrics, which add valuable context to your data. The best part is you can easily copy and share these insights with your team.
• Forecast next month, quarter, or year – or customize it to your unique business needs for up to 24 months. 
• Easily include or exclude season trends, holidays, or financial markets in your forecasts to better reflect real-world conditions.
• Assess the reliability of your forecasts with a forecast score between 0 and 100, and understand what factors are affecting your score.
• Save your forecasts to monitor your progress towards your predicted outcomes.
• View your historical forecasts and compare them to your actual data to see the areas where you exceeded, met, or fell short of predictions.

How to Forecast Your Performance 

You can access Metric Forecasts by navigating to the Forecasts icon in the left-hand sidebar.

Using the drop-down menu, select the metric you would like to see forecasted values for. The graph will then generate a forecast for the next 3 months, including data from the previous 24 months.

Now you have a few different options to customize your forecasts… 

• Forecasting period: Use the drop-down to update your forecasting period. You can pick from This Month, This Year, or any custom range between 1 to 24 months. 
• Historical data: Under the previous period, you can define the amount of historical data you want to show in your graph. This must be at least 2 months. 
• Graph settings: You have the power to adjust how your forecasts appear. Simply choose how you want the data graphed – by day, week, or month. Then, use the toggle to change between cumulative and non-cumulative views. 

Once you are done making your updates, make sure to click Apply to save your changes.

Metric forecasts will show three different lines of forecasting: Forecast Value, Forecast (optimistic), and Forecast (pessimistic).

• The Forecast Value line predicts the most likely outcome for your chosen metric, offering a clear idea of what to expect in the coming months. 
• Forecast (optimistic) shows the best-case scenario for your business. It gives you insights into the positive results you can achieve when things go exceptionally well. Use this line to help set ambitious goals and guide your business with confidence. 
• On the other hand, Forecast (pessimistic) prepares you for worst-case scenarios – potential challenges or obstacles you might face. Use the forecast lower to proactively plan and craft smart strategies to tackle these uncertainties.

The area between the forecast upper and the forecast lower is the confidence interval. It provides a range where the actual value is most likely to fall. A narrow interval means a more certain and precise estimate, while a wider interval indicates more variability. By understanding this interval, you can confidently plan for the future and make data-backed decisions for your business.

So, let’s say you’re curious about your forecast for December. By hovering over the December data point on the chart, you’ll instantly view the forecasting levels and confidence interval for that specific month.

Forecast Confidence Score: See How Reliable Your Predictions Are

The Forecast Confidence score helps you asses the reliability of your forecasts. It analyzes several factors like historical data, the length of the forecasted period, and anomalies to give you a score between 0 and 100. A higher score indicates greater confidence in the forecast, while a lower score suggests more uncertainty.

Next to the gauge, you’ll also find a short explanation of the parameters influencing your score, helping you identify why your forecast might be less reliable.

Forecast Modelling Parameters: Include Holidays, Seasonality, and More

The Forecast modeling parameters allow you to adjust your forecasts to account for real-world factors that impact your business, like holidays, seasonality, and even financial events.

• Seasonality: By enabling seasonality, you’ll be able to detect recurring patterns in your data, whether it be on a weekly, monthly, or even yearly basis. This helps you predict fluctuations in your data so you can plan ahead and make the most of opportunities.
• Holidays: You can use this parameter to account for upcoming holidays in your forecasts and see how they might affect your business. You can choose holidays from a specific country or financial market, so your forecast reflects the environment you’re operating in.

How To Save Your Forecasts To View Them Later

Once you’ve set up your forecasts, saving it is easy. Just click on the + Add to My Forecasts button at the top of the screen.

This action will save your forecast to the My Forecast page – a screen where you can access and monitor your most important forecasts from one place.

By clicking on “View Details, you’ll be able to view your historical forecasts and compare them to your actual data. Select any of the historical points in your chart to see areas where your company exceeded, met, or fell short of predictions.

Start Forecasting Your Performance Now

Give your team valuable insights that help you set more realistic goals, create better strategies, and plan for the future with confidence. No more guessing – just data-backed insights to drive your business forward. 

Try our “Growth” plan to experience the full potential of Forecasts and unlock AI-driven insights. From Dashboards and Reports to Goals, Alerts, and more, Databox offers a variety of tools to help you improve your performance.

New to Databox? No problem. Getting started is easy! Create an account, connect your data from over 100+ platforms, build customizable dashboards, and generate insightful Reports – in minutes.

Embrace the future of data analytics, predict your success with data-backed precision, and take control of your business’s performance!