Were in the midst of a new era of marketing, sales analysis, product development, and dozens of other areas of businessall thanks to the powerful insights that data can offer us. With data, we can learn more about our strategies, find better improvements, and ultimately operate more efficiently and with more satisfied customers. Though most data analysis and development methods revolve around digital strategies, even traditional marketing and advertising methods like print services can benefit from the influence of big data.
Even so, there are some businesses that have resisted building new data collection or interpretation systems, or else havent adapted to the new world that this available data brings. With the potential for a more efficient, more effective system in almost every application, whats stopping these businesses from moving forward?
Factors Preventing Adoption
These are some of the biggest reasons why many businesses still refuse to adopt any big data systems:
1. Fundamental misunderstandings of data.
One of the biggest limiting factors is the simple misunderstanding of what big data is and how it can be used to get to know your customers better. Because its a heavily circulated buzzword, some business owners have no idea what practical processes and benefits are actually included under this umbrella, and dont have a clear path to achieving those items. More education and research can easily alleviate this, but getting reluctant business owners to take that step is challenging.
2. Overreliance on old methods of collecting data
Traditional and conservative businesses would rather rely on old, reliable, and/or proven methods that work for the business. For example, if youre used to collecting customer information through over-the-phone surveys done annually by your sales staff, and it works to some degree, you may be reluctant to adopt a more sophisticated mass-email survey with more quantifiable data points and a better distribution system. This is especially true for older types of businesses, who are still getting used to the digital age.
3. Lack of a data specialist
If you want your company to adapt, you need someone to lead the way. An expert, whether thats a designated professional hire or someone on your team with experience in the area, needs to set expectations and guide your business in the right direction. If your business doesnt have a data specialist, for example, youll be unable to come up with a suitable plan for collecting and using data.
4. Not enough budget
If you dont have enough money to make a change, it doesnt matter how badly you want to make it. No matter what products you buy or what people you hire, investing in big data demands a significant budget. If you dont have any wiggle room with your current lineup of marketing, sales, and administrative costs, running in a new direction would seem fiscally irresponsible. However, you also have to remember that investing in data is a way to improve the long-term financial health of your business, and will likely end up more than paying for itself if you use it correctly.
5. Indefinite procrastination on the decision to move forward
Some businesses like the idea of incorporating more data into their business models, or have already been told that they should, but they still are reluctant to move forward because they keep procrastinating the decisions. Due to a mix of different sentiments (some of which are found in this article), or possibly the self-recognition that they dont know enough, they keep postponing the adoption and end up never moving forward.
6. Fears over misuse of data
In some ways, collecting and storing more data means youre going to be more vulnerable. For starters, storing your data the wrong way could leave it open to hackers looking to misuse that data for their own gain. The proper security measures could easily prevent this, but many business owners arent willing to learn this approach. Theres also the possibility that all your collected data could be misinterpreted or misused in the confines of your own organization, leading to misfires and poor directional shifts.
How to Gradually Adapt
If you find yourself running or working for a company that refuses to adapt based on one of the above factors, there is a somewhat simple solution: adapt gradually. Dont fully upgrade every system for every department, or allocate huge swaths of your budget to new data collection and analysis methods; instead, focus on small upgrades, one at a time, until you have a better overall infrastructure in place. Even the most conservative or low-budget operations shouldnt have a problem with this iterative structure, and youll be able to prove your results along the way.
