Sales Analysis (SQL/Tableau)

Here, I began with some simple distinct functions to simply analyze the text and get a better understanding of the data I was working with.

1. Which is the best month for sales?

• December is the highest month for sales.

• In order to determine this, I grouped the sum of sales by month.

2. Which product sells the best in that month?

• Tables sell the most in the month of December.

• In order to determine this, I selected both product category and product sub-category and grouped it by month which was set to "12" (December) using a where clause.

3. Which customer age group brings in the most sales?

• Age group 50-59 is responsible for the highest amount of sales.

• In order to determine this, I used case expressions and cast functions to create age ranges in intervals of 10. Then, I grouped the sum of sales by those age ranges.

4. Which customer segment makes up most of their sales?

• Corporate brings in the most sales and always places the most orders.

• In order to determine this, I grouped the sum of sales and order quantity by customer segment.

5. Who is their best customer?

• Determining who the 'best' customer is, is somewhat of a subjective matter. Instead of simply using sales to establish who the best customer is, I decided to use a process called 'RFM analysis.' Based on the data available, I felt this yielded the best results.

• RFM analysis is a technique used to quantitatively rank customers based on three metrics: recency (how recent they purchased), frequency (how often they purchase), and monetary (how much they spend).

• Each metric is ranked individually over four quartiles, with 1 being the lowest score and 4 the highest.

• Then, the string of numbers created from each metric will place each customer in different segmentations:

  • Lost - Lost customers

  • Cant Lose Them - Large spenders who haven’t purchased lately, but the company should look to reconnect with

  • At Risk - Purchased somewhat recently, but beginning to slip away

  • New Customers

  • Active - Customers who buy often & recently, but either in lower quantities/price points

  • Potential Loyalist - Customers who aren't quite top tier, but close to being so

  • Loyalist - Top tier customers

• Customers deemed 'loyalists' ranked the highest in each metric and are who I would consider to be the 'best customers.' There were 55 total loyalists in this dataset.