Using big data improves nearly any type of business in multiple ways. However, the term itself often feels daunting to smaller firms and newcomers in the marketplace. You may feel unsure of where to start and even why you should utilize big data.
What exactly is big data? In a nutshell, it is complex sets of information used to generate reports and help your company run more efficiently.
According to Statista, the amount of data created worldwide reached 59 zettabytes in 2020, with the numbers growing exponentially each year. The more devices connected to the internet of things (IoT) and the more people get online, the more data grows.
How can companies benefit from big data? The value of big data lies in the analytics of information and the ability to apply it to the processes your company most needs. Here are some key things new businesses should pay careful attention to concerning big data.
1. Streamline Your Marketing Efforts
Marketers today use big data in numerous ways to enhance their promotional campaigns. First, use customer databases to figure out what past offers resonated with your particular audience. Knowing the types of specials that speak to your buyers helps you create future offers they’ll be interested in.
You can also track how successful different platforms are for marketing and nix any not giving you an excellent return on investment (ROI).
2. Reduce Indirect Expenses
Hidden costs add up quickly, especially for new brands that may not have planned for some of the associated fees in running a new company. Keeping track of indirect spending is a challenge.
Indirect spending includes costs such as office supplies, utilities, travel and professional services. Big data can pull information out of your account management system and track expenditures. You can look for places to reduce expenses and increase cash flow.
Big data allows you to collect, analyze and track spending with the push of a button.
3. Refine Your Language
By combining natural language processing of artificial intelligence and big data, you can even have computers look through old texts, emails and phone call transcripts to find potential leads and the right language to reach them.
Your sales department will begin hitting more sweet notes with potential customers, and you’ll find the number of leads converting into customers increases.
4. Increase Profits
A BARC research report found businesses shifting their focus to a big data model increased profits by about 8%, but they also reduced costs by 10%. Lower fees and higher income is a game-changer for companies operating on razor-thin margins.
The great thing about digitized analysis and reporting is it doesn’t take any additional time once you’ve set it up. While the transition may be a bit overwhelming at first, once you have systems in place, you simply get notifications if you’re spending too much in a particular area or a marketing campaign isn’t working well.
You can even uncover those products sitting in inventory and not moving, so you can sell them at a discount and make way for more popular items.
5. Grow More Competitive
Big data allows you to compete in your industry. You likely already understand the importance of studying your competition and offering something unique or better than they do. However, big data processes more information faster and gives you the insight needed to truly excel.
In an Accenture study on big data, 79% of executives felt big data made the difference between competitive success and company-wide failure. If you use big data and another startup does not, you may gain an edge they can’t overcome.
The report also showed those who tried big data were delighted with the outcome of the experiment. It was well worth their investment of money and time.
6. Build Predictive Models
Most startups hit the market with one or two main products. As the business grows, they’ll introduce new offers. With big data, you can look at past success and make some concrete predictions on what does well in the future.
If you sell physical products, you can run analytics and see which ones your customers are most interested in. While there is no substitute for listening to client’s words and what they’ve requested, big data simply takes all those details from customer service interactives and emails and spits out a solution to what you should add next to your sales catalog.
7. Capture New Customers
You can also use data mining and gather information and statistics from social media, online repositories and your local community. The data helps you develop more robust buyer personas so you can better target your ideal customers.
Understanding your audience on a deeper level allows you to tap into their emotions and pain points. What is the thing driving them to look for a product such as yours in the first place? How can you solve the problem for them?
Every little detail makes you more effective at marketing and closing sales. However, better data also allows you to follow-up and turn first-time customers into your brand’s lifelong brands.
Analyze Online and Offline Information
One of the most significant advantages of big data for new businesses is your ability to plug in data from any source. If your first customers came from attending local community fairs, you can input their information and analyze it to find new audiences.
There are many advantages to big data and very few disadvantages. The power of using it from almost day one of your new business is you’ll learn which reports work best for your needs. Your use of business intelligence will likely grow alongside your company. You’ll set the groundwork for success for years to come.
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