A companys data is commonly considered one of their most important assets, provided it is managed effectively. If data is mismanaged, it will either grow into a business liability, or at the very least, a company will not perform as well as it could have if its information was:
- Captured and input properly, with effective spelling and consistent formatting
- Classified and indexed effectively
- Free of duplicates and dummy data
- Secured and only made available to privileged employees
- Maintained with a scalable storage system with archiving options
Or, as the saying goes: garbage in, garbage out. Since youre looking for the benefits of big data for business and consumer clients, here are six of them you can use to build a solid business case.
1. Effective customer and prospect profiling
Isnt it great when you go to a website, like a self-service portal and you are already logged in, and everywhere you navigate, you feel like the website knows who you are, and your preferences for certain products and content types?
Whether you are shopping for clothing for your family, or office furniture for your business, effective data management provides your personalized online shopping experience. The same can be said for the customer experience in the real world. The ability to market to customers and prospects based on their previous interactions with your company can be lucrative for lead generation and customer retention.
2. Make decisions based on facts, not assumptions
If your company is bringing a new product to market, its great to have a set baseline to model a products features and benefits on. A data driven culture is ideal, so many businesses strive to create one in their business. For instance, reliable information about customer preferences for attributes such as color, texture and/or lifestyle demographics can make or break a product launch.
Decisions based on data analysis help companies mitigate risk, and concise views of critical data points make it easier to get executive alignment. A recent Cap Gemini business leader survey found that 9 out of 10 executives feel their decisions would have been more effective with better visibility of relevant information. 85 percent of those surveyed said the ability to act on data in real time was crucial.
Executives are evaluated based on the effectiveness of their decision making skills. Breaking down organizational information silos is critical to effective decision making.
Consumers benefit when manufacturers are able to deliver the right products to market, in the right quantity, at the right time to satisfy their needs. Loyalty programs like cash-back programs, airline points and preferred customer offers are a great reward for sacrificing demographic data and information about what youre buying.
3. Connecting through Chaos
How many times have you read about a success story like an airline responding to a customer complaint when they were waiting at the gate, or a restaurant chain that adapts its menu options, advertising and staffing based on real-time data analysis? Consumers and brands are more connected than ever, and companies track and react proactively to customer sentiment through social media and Net Promoter Scores.
Social media and influencer/user generated content is a powerful force on the internet, and as recurring revenue streams become the norm in many industries, customer loyalty is increasingly important. Analytics can identify signals of potential customer churn before it becomes evident through regular customer interactions. Some indicators of potential loss of a customer can be found through following social activity related to your competitors with social listening and reporting tools.
Consumers are big winners as the companies they do business with are more plugged in to social sites like Twitter and Facebook. Some companies are using social media as a direct support channel, which can translate into less time waiting on hold and better customer service.
4. The Internet of Things
Consider devices like the Fitbit, Apple Watch, and irrigation sensors in famers fields. You could just smile and nod at the number of steps you take during a day, or complain about the price of cauliflower during years of drought. Without analytics and vast repositories of data, the IoT for healthcare and other industries wouldnt be possible.
People with conditions like diabetes can monitor their blood sugar levels without frequent visits or calls to their doctor. Same goes for blood pressure readings for post-op heart surgery patients. Insurance companies, hospitals, medical device and pharmaceutical companies can leverage this data to forecast expenses, occupancy, and manufacturing requirements too.
With real-time and predictive analytics, companies can effectively price and stock their products and services based on demand for certain SKUs from online ordering and POS transaction data.
5. Information and Personal Security
Though IT and physical security is often considered from a prevent and protect perspective, big data plays a key role in identifying potential and recent breaches. IT security leaders like IBM, RSA and the Cloud Security Alliance offer thought leadership and solutions to identify everything from potential threats worldwide to stealth breaches which have already happened on your network. You can even watch cyber attacks in real time on a variety of global maps from companies like FireEye, Kaspersky and Norse IPViking. Trends on violent and non-violent crime are tracked through a number of online repositories available to the public.
Big Data is often thought of as a business opportunity for those who need to make sense of the terabytes and zetabytes of data they gather on their clients, partners, employees and other stake-holders. If you are undecided about who to vote for in an election, or just about any aspect of your life, theres a big data resource at your fingertips which can make your life better. Just be aware that it will probably also benefit a commercial enterprise at the same time.
