23 Aug How does big data enhance your business?
Today, we’re producing more data than ever before.
From sending a text message to making a purchase, our actions generate useful data that businesses can use to service and/or product offerings..
Whilst we may not realise it, we see the effects of big data every day.
For example, targeted ads are a common way our data is utilised to generate business opportunities. A google search leads to a targeted ad which leads to a purchase, all because of big data.
Big data underpins the success of many businesses. And you can take advantage of these benefits too.
We’re going to explore how businesses leverage big data in the digital age.
What is big data?
As the name suggests, big data simply refers to the massive amounts of data we use and produce everyday. Around 60% of the world’s population is connected to the digital world, and it’s this connection that causes us to obtain masses of valuable data.
Benefits of big data
Big data has the ability to enhance businesses of any size. It has many great benefits, including:
Enhanced decision making
With big data, businesses are able to make smarter, more informed decisions. This is because they’re basing their decisions on real evidence.
However, to come to the best data driven decisions, data should be freed from the grips of analysts and IT experts. All relevant stakeholders in a business should be able to access data, as this will provide a range of different perspectives, which will ultimately allow businesses to come up with the most innovative solutions.
Increased efficiency
Big data can increase the efficiency of businesses by:
- Speeding up decision making processes.
- Highlighting patterns that can lead to future developments.
- Helping businesses identify and let go of inefficient processes.
- When combined with technology, big data can streamline processes to achieve faster results.
Customer focused solutions
Big data provides businesses with detailed information about clients and customers. This data is pivotal when it comes to:
- Developing future products or services
- Future marketing efforts
- Optimising existing offerings
The more you know about your customers, the more you can tailor your offerings to meet their needs. This makes your offerings stronger, therefore making your business more successful.
Rather than guessing things about your customers, big data allows you to see real facts about who they are, what they like and how they’re interacting with your business. This allows you to ensure that you’re delivering the best products or services, making you stand out from your competitors.
Increased earning potential
Big data can increase earnings for businesses of any size.
There are a number of reasons for this.
Firstly, big data is a highly sought after commodity. If you have data that could add value to another business, you can sell it, allowing it to become an additional stream of income.
Big data also helps you make better business decisions, which in turn, helps you make more money.
Improved products and services
Big data provides businesses with rich insights about their customers, their industry and their previous performance. As a result, it helps businesses enhance their offerings, to continue to innovate and stay relevant with their customers. It assists businesses to expand their offerings into new markets.
Big data in motion
To highlight the benefits of big data, consider the popular streaming service, Spotify.
Spotify’s use of big data has underpinned its success by allowing it to personalise its services.
Over the past 30 years, the music landscape has changed considerably, with a shift towards streaming and online music consumption. Spotify has been a big part of this shift, contributing to the datafication of music.
In the past, music consumption was difficult to track, as it mainly occurred offline. Whilst businesses were able to track how many physical music copies were sold, they were unable to access detailed customer data.
However, Spotify created a service where music is data.
Today, there’s more data around music consumption than ever before. People who use Spotify contribute to this data, as using the streaming service provides information about:
- What people are listening to
- How many times they listen to songs
- Which songs people are putting together in playlists
- Which songs are being skipped, and at what point
- How people are rating certain songs
Spotify is then able to use this data to create a highly personalised experience for its listeners. Through big data, Spotify is able to deliver:
- Curated playlists
- Song recommendations
- Mood-based playlists
- End of year recaps, which are arguably Spotify’s most attractive feature
The more people use Spotify, the better it gets at learning their tastes and helping them find new music. This is because it’s constantly generating more and more user data. Through learning more about its customers, Spotify is able to make decisions that enhance its services and increase its profit.
The proof is in the numbers. Today, Spotify has 182 million premium subscribers worldwide. These numbers are only expected to grow as their services become more advanced and personalised.
Just like it did for Spotify, big data can start your business’s success story.
Data is the starting point for everything. It has the power to transform industries and define success.
But to gain these valuable insights, you need a solid data strategy. At Infocentric, we can help you use your data to drive true innovation.
Do you want to unlock the full potential of your data? Chat with us today.