Happy World Telecommunication and Information Society Day! (For the sake of everyone’s sanity let’s abbreviate that mouthful to ‘WTISD.’) Celebrated each year on 17 May, WTISD is about raising awareness for all things digital: how tech is shaping our society, how the Internet is influencing behaviour, and how we can use tech to solve current problems. This year’s theme is ‘Big Data for Big Impact’ – or, transforming unstructured information into valuable tools for business development.
But how can companies make the most out of the data they have?
The tech giants we have all come to rely on – Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft – have turned big data into ‘the oil of the digital era.’ Data – more importantly, interpreting its trends and patterns – is now so valuable that it’s an industry in itself. Thanks to the tech sector’s evolving use of gathered information, these companies are able to continue growing, improving and delivering products to satisfy a need.
The phrase ‘big data’ implies that only big businesses can stand to benefit, even though it doesn’t mean anything of the sort. However, companies of all sizes can stand to use company and consumer data to their advantage. In the spirit of WTISD 2017, here are just a few ways data can help businesses improve, grow and evolve in a fast-paced market.
1. Spend smarter on your outgoings and budgets
According to a recent survey of Fortune 1000 companies, 49.2% of executives responded that their investment in big data decreased operational expenses. Although ‘operational expenses’ may differ between individual companies, reducing daily costs and allocating budgets more effectively can only help a business grow. Knowing your company’s energy data, for example – how much is used per day, is there a certain time of day that uses more energy, how costs have changed over time – can inform energy-saving efforts for reduced bills (and a friendlier environmental approach!) in future.
2. Have a better understanding of your customers
Rather than brands telling consumers what they should want, these days the consumer holds the power. With the widespread use of smart devices that generate data – be it from your mobile phone, wearable, laptop, tablet or desktop – companies are able to track in real-time what’s working and what isn’t. This data can then be used to inform business changes: if some part of the business is underperforming or if a product is underselling, big data can help companies see why. Analysing consumer behaviour helps companies anticipate trends to stand out from competitors, using data collected from sources like social media, weather forecasts and cultural events.
3. Market more intelligently by analysing your data to make sure you are reaching the right audience.
Companies waste time, money and resource on marketing campaigns that don’t deliver the intended results. Whether it’s an issue of creating successful online content or distributing the right messages at the right time, big data can paint a better picture of your consumer so you can sell to them more effectively. For example, using big data to construct accurate audience personas – where they live, what kinds of content they are likely to share online, how and when they like to shop, etc. – can give your marketing material more impact. Before big data, it was also much more difficult to measure the actual outcome of a campaign. Now that we can track sentiment through metrics like comments, shares, and impressions, we can craft our messages with more success – otherwise, you may feel like you’re shouting into the wind!
Understanding big data – interpreting its patterns and using it to predict outcomes – will take time, patience and finesse, but it can have a lasting impact on every aspect of your business.
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