Utilizing Data to Maximize Business Potential

We live in a digital world. Large and small businesses alike have adjusted in kind by focusing on digital transformation initiatives. As a result, there have been significant growth with businesses utilizing data analytics to become more productive, efficient, and attractive. Retail, healthcare, manufacturing, financial firms, nearly every major industry has become persuaded of the efficacies of “big data”. Being data analysis has many positive effects for those who utilize them, businesses who have yet to capitalize on this potential are missing out. 

Unless you are someone who consistently works with data, you may not be clear about the basics. To begin using these techniques requires at least a basic introduction to what big data and data analytics actually is. Big Data generally refers to very large sets of information while data analytics is the actual process performed on data in order to glean useful information which can make a company more successful. 

Every time anyone uses the internet or an application, all of those interactions performed leave behind a kind of breadcrumb like trail. Each choice made by a consumer communicates information about that person's likes, dislikes, preferences, and habits. 

If understood, businesses can anticipate the needs and desires of their consistent and potential customer base. What used to have to be done solely through surveys and focus groups — which took time, money, and resources — can now be done instantaneously with a drastic reduction in costs. Hence the quickly expanding interest from businesses. 

Big Data VS. Data Analytics?

Big data references massive amounts of information, which come in structured or unstructured forms that need to be gathered, processed,  and quantified by specific tools. Data collection can come from multiple places like mobile devices, social media, websites, or industrial devices. Businesses collect data because of the information that can be learned from its study. However, the sheer size of the data collected can make it difficult to sort through before discovering information that can inform great business opportunities.  

Data analytics is the next step after the collection of big data. This process is about sorting through and examining the data that has been gathered in various forms. The goal is to discover insights that create sound business decisions. This is accomplished through computers that utilize algorithms that try to discover patterns, connections, and valuable awarenesses. What is gleaned from those observations helps organizations make better decisions. 

Here are some ways in which data analytics can benefit your business. 

Benefits of Data Analysis 

1. New Customers 

Attracting new customers can be hard. Gaining and then losing a customer, however, while sometimes confusing, can often point to trends or patterns that occur when people engage with various services. The ability to attract and hold a potential customer is paramount to success. 

A business can track something like the number of website visits before a visitor becomes a “lead”, which ultimately becomes a new customer. Understanding how these prospective customers respond to email marketing, social media campaigns, or the flow of a website is crucial to gaining and maintaining customer loyalty. 

Studying big data derived from your own business can create awareness which has the potential to polish marketing campaigns, create new products, or improve customer experience. A happy customer is very likely to be a return customer. 

2. Effective Marketing

Marketing campaigns are expensive investments. You need not look any further than the Super Bowl and its slew of hilarious, clever, and moving commercials to recognize what a well-made marketing campaign can accomplish for a business. A 30-second ad for the 2022 Super Bowl cost an estimated $233,000 per second, costing about $ 6.5 million dollars in total. 

Since most businesses don’t have nearly that kind of financial capital to play with, they have to use other means of creating effective marketing. That’s where data analytics comes in. By measuring the effectiveness of previous campaigns, adjustments can be made in consideration of customer profile information and engagement. 

3. Maintaining Customer Loyalty  

The aim of every business is to build brand loyalty, but how does a prospective customer become a loyal, returning one? Well, short of asking a customer directly and being lucky enough to get an honest answer from someone who isn't too busy, you would need to be able to read their minds. Luckily, that is almost what happens with data analytics. 

The information gathered from things like web traffic, purchases, the number of views or clicks on certain pages all gives insight into the personality and interest of your customers. Understanding and anticipating those behaviors to create a more engaging product or service in fresh ways is what will help to maintain customer loyalty.

4. Managing Risk

The more a company grows, the more potential for new and unforeseen risks to emerge. Data analytics can help to uncover and predict which weaknesses your business may have. Spotting them ahead of time is obviously the most wanted, but even the ability to recognize and respond appropriately to small problems can create shifts in customer satisfaction. Tracking client feedback helps to make informed decisions about what adjustments need to be made in products or services. With the right tools, techniques, and action, great things can happen for your business. 

Long Term Benefits 

The use of big data and data analytics has grown at a rapid rate in the last few years for a reason: profitable results. The gathering and use of that data, while sometimes a complicated and costly investment, can be well worth it if the insights gained are appropriately implemented through informed business decisions. If such actions are enacted consistently that can cause significant growth to your business — maybe enough that the financial accounting department will need to expand.