Big Data is a Powerful Asset for Business Success | 7wData

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Various business trends today, such as the use of artificial intelligence and multimedia visual marketing, are connected to the concept of Big data. Every action internet users take generates a data trail, and the amount of machine-generated data is growing too.

Using this data effectively can give businesses an edge in today’s competitive environment. Analyzing Big Data helps them to achieve better results in many areas of business with minimum wasted effort and costs.

Big Data refers to large amounts of information. Businesses used to rely on Information taken from spreadsheets and databases. Now they can capture, store and work with many types of data taken from numerous sources. Data can mean anything from databases to sensor data, photos, video, audio, and written text.

One of the ways to gather data is by using opt-in forms or lead forms to request permission from users. Tracking software is often used to gather information from computers and cell phones about browsing habits.

Using cookies is one of the most popular methods to gather data. EU countries have much stricter laws now, and businesses must notify EU citizens who browse their pages about their use of cookies.

Capture and track the right kind of data

One of the biggest challenges for businesses is to collect the right kind of data. Email clicks, web visits, and video views are not necessarily the best indicators of business success.

The biggest challenge for businesses is not necessarily how to gather it, how to structure it, or which tools to use to analyze it, but what challenges the business wants to address. Many new online data points have become available that help business to solve challenges. Here are some examples:

Wells Fargo uses sentiment analysis to strengthen its call centers – it collects voice recordings of conversations with customers and analyzes voice pitch, emotions, and tone.

Understand the sequence of clicks that lead a consumer to a website and conversions.

Search analysis. Understand most relevant search terms to a product category to craft SEO-optimized blog posts etc.

The more businesses know about a given situation, the more reliably they can gain new insights and predict what will happen in the future. A comparison of data points allows them to make connections that were previously hidden and make smarter decisions.

To make sense of Big Data, businesses use cutting-edge analytics involving Machine Learning and artificial intelligence. Most commonly, they build models based on collected data. Simulations are run, and the value of the data points is adjusted to see how this impacts results.

The process of adjusting all possible variables is automated. Eventually, a pattern or insight is found. Machines are quicker and more reliable in spotting patterns than humans.

The ever-growing stream of data is being used in ways that were not possible even a few years ago. The world of business is being revolutionized across almost all industries. For instance, businesses can accurately predict what customers want to buy, and when, with a high degree of accuracy.

A business like Walmart benefits greatly from this kind of prediction. It helps businesses to run more efficiently.

1. Understanding and targeting customers One of the most straightforward and yet efficient uses of big data is to improve customer information. A customer profile typically consists of a name, location and purchasing history. Simply adding cookies to a website allows business to collect more data such as:

• The device used by a customer. If customers are using a particular smartphone or a tablet, page format can be adjusted according to the model used. • Average time spent on a page. Knowing that a customer only spends 10 20 seconds on a particular page can raise questions. Why is this happening and what can be done to prevent it? • Browsing habits. Many experts regard this as the most important information marketers can have.