We now live in an era of big data. Whether you work in financial services, consumer goods, travel and transportation or industrial products, big data is an enormous game-changer. So how can employees and executives keep up with it?
Today’s organizations can collect overwhelming amounts of data. New technologies and rapidly increasing channels and platforms have created a massively complex environment, while offering an unprecedented array of insights into customer needs and behaviors.
And if you’re not using it? You’re losing out.
Companies that use big data and analytics effectively show productivity rates and profitability that are 5 – 6 percent higher than those of their peers. These companies do three things well:
1. Know how to use analytics to identify opportunities. They pull in relevant data sets from both inside and outside the company, and instead of relying on mass analysis, they focus their efforts on the specific business problems they want to solve.
2. Think like a consumer. Today’s consumer uses an array of devices, tools, and technologies to complete their tasks, and about 35 percent of business to business pre-purchase activities are digital. So B2B companies need to invest in SEO technology to make sure potential customers are finding them online and use social media monitoring to spot new sales opportunities. Additionally, they should invest in big data to develop complete pictures of their customers so they can personalize messages and products that are relevant to those customers.
3. Keep up the pace. Big data is currently growing at a rate of 40 percent per year, but the professionals fluent in analytics are keeping up! For most of us, our math and statistics background includes maybe a college class or two. So your company will need to invest in an automated “algorithmic marketing,” an approach that includes predictive statistics, machine learning, and natural language mining.
Still feeling intimidated? If you need to hire experienced, excellent data analysts to help you wrangle big data, don’t hesitate to call Smith Hanley. We can help you find just the right people to give your company the competitive edge.
