How to Use Big Data to Create Value in My Company?

Have you ever stopped to think about how much information we generate every day on the internet? To understand the magnitude of this production, let's look at what happens in just one minute online: 639,800 gigabytes of data transferred, 1,300 new mobile users, 204 million emails sent, 47,000 app downloads, over 100 new LinkedIn accounts, 277,000 Facebook logins and 6 million profile views, 30 hours of video uploaded, 1.3 million video views, more than 320 new Twitter accounts, 100,000 new tweets, and $83,000 in sales.

Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, stated that every 48 hours, we generate as much data on the internet as humanity has produced from the beginning of civilization until 2003: five exabytes of data. Schmidt also points out that this trend will continue to grow exponentially due to technological advances. This large volume of information is known as Big Data.

An important characteristic of Big Data is the various sources and the wide variety of data types being generated. A possible classification of these could include:

• Social media
• Scientific instruments
• Mobile Devices
• Sensor technologies and networks

This classification may expand in the future as technology progresses and innovation continues.

After understanding the vast amount of information being produced, the question becomes: how can we leverage this data to create value for my business?

Big Data has emerged as the ideal ally for companies, as it optimizes and improves all processes and tasks. In other words, it enhances the reorganization of priorities and decision-making regarding upcoming or future investments. Furthermore, some brands are betting on applying Big Data analytics to their marketing strategies to optimize campaigns, directly impacting sales results. However, it’s important to note that Big Data not only helps improve marketing efficiency, but also enhances value creation. The structured and unstructured data that can be obtained promises to increase customer engagement by enriching the overall experience.

Keys to Creating Value

If, after learning about Big Data, you want to implement it in your company, you must keep in mind certain needs behind this tool:

1. Data must lead to action: Information becomes valuable when it is used to produce content of interest.
2. Specialized resources are needed: Experts in statistics with knowledge of computer science are necessary to ensure professionals have the skills required to analyze the data with discipline and rigor.
3. Security and privacy issues must be addressed: Issues related to data recording, personal and public privacy, transparency of companies working with Big Data, or the specific regulations of each country could arise. All of these scenarios should be considered in the company’s decision-making.

Taking all the above into account, we can focus on the benefits that your company can obtain by responsibly using Big Data:

1. Boost sales

Thanks to Big Data, you will be able to track consumption patterns, meaning you can track current purchases and customer preferences. This will allow the company to detect its strengths and weaknesses, as well as make decisions that will generate greater profits.

Additionally, by tracking customer purchases, you will be able to make a better estimate to adjust production and even predict the raw materials you will need. As a result, you will have greater control over spending in the company’s production process.

2. Greater knowledge of consumers

Consumers generate vast amounts of data, which will allow you to better understand them and, therefore, your company will have certain key points that will help you get closer to the right person. In other words, the efficiency of the sales process will improve, as the company will focus on and reach the market segments that are most profitable by offering a product or service that closely matches what the consumer is demanding.

3. Enhanced engagement with Big Data

If you want to increase customer loyalty, you can do so by creating engagement strategies. With Big Data, this strategy is enhanced because you will implement customer preferences, tastes, and all kinds of data that offer valuable information about the customer.

4. Optimal designs

Knowing in advance what customers need or are interested in means that, from the beginning, you will be working on a design that aligns with the customer’s tastes.

5. Tracking market trends

Using Big Data, you can track opinions (both positive and negative) that customers or individuals have about a product or service you are offering. Based on that feedback, you can make better decisions regarding the product. Or, in any case, you can observe whether there is a gap in the market for a new product to launch.

6. Control of marketing spending

By analyzing the market in which the company operates, potential competitors, and customers, you can assess whether launching a marketing strategy is profitable or whether it might need adjustment to be more efficient.

7. SEO optimization

With Big Data, you can improve the online presence of your company’s website. Through SEO optimization, you will make the website more useful both for users and search engines.

8. Detecting and preventing customer losses

You will be able to analyze customer behavior patterns to detect what causes an abandoned online purchase (such as shipping costs, the purchase process itself, payment methods, or poor communication strategies) or what leads to a completed purchase. Based on this analysis, you can think of or rethink different strategies or tools to ensure that the customer completes the online sale.

What are you waiting for to apply Big Data to your company and improve your results?