by Kyla Camille Nievera, Negosentro |
Both small and large business enterprises handle customer data on a daily basis. Storing that information in platforms that can enable a business to analyze data efficiently without wasting time and resources is an integral part towards making informed management decisions that can improve the productivity of a business. Although most small businesses don’t consider analyzing Big Data as a viable investment idea that can be extremely counterproductive by making a business lag behind in this fast-paced tech world.
The perception that Big Data is meant for big businesses is highly misconstrued because smart small business people are already embracing the technology and have started reaping fruits from its efficiency. Here are some of the benefits of Big Data and how it can unlock business secrets for your small business.
Revealing the trends
Even though using social media platforms where people keep discussing and exchanging ideas is a way of understanding the current trends, it’s not enough for a dedicated business. It’s only through the analysis of Big Data and the use of apache kafka in streaming the data real-time that you can identify and keep an eye on relevant behavioral patterns. Understanding the behavioral patterns of your existing and potential customers will help you in knowing whether you’re moving in right direction or not. Big Data will help you in making better predictions about the future so that you can prepare yourself beforehand. Trends and market dynamics change every day, and it’s not easy to tell what will happen into the future if you don’t understand the past and the current trends.
Most managers in established brands have made confessions in the recent past that they no longer depend on gut or instinct in making decisions about the future. They depend on the real-time analysis of Big Data from updated Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Point Of Sale systems to make immediate decisions that are often accurate. Sometimes you can use data of how your customers navigates through an online store and collaborate it with a number of external factors such as economic conditions, time zones, and weather in consummating a clear strategy of what your customers would prefer.
Customers
It’s important for every business owner or manager to build relationships or even platforms where customers can engage well with the business to boost brand loyalty. It’s cheaper to retain a customer than to get a new one. Big Data not only helps in retaining existing customers but also in seeking for new prospects effectively. Big Data analytics will help you understand what generated an interest in the customers’ guts to try out your products or visit your website. Furthermore, if some of the visits to your website or online shopping store were positive conversions, Big Data will also help you understand what prompted the driving force behind those conversions. Such an analysis will help you in knowing what is strategic or good for your site and what is not working or just a waste of resources. Big Data leverages on the traditional in-house data such as the customer service information, sales information, browser data, social media, census data, and text analytics in integrating your entire business’s data.
Competition
The conventional methods of analyzing your competitors are not applicable in today’s business world. You can easily analyze what your competitors are up to in the market in terms of prizes and quality. You can get that by going through their websites, using Google Trends to check how they are trending, or even viewing social media platforms. For instance, Big Data can help you understand why most of your potential customers head to your competitor’s Facebook Pages instead of trying out your page.
