How Small Businesses Can Leverage Its Benefits

The amount of data in the world is growing exponentially. By the time you’ve read this page, 90 million text messages will be sent and received. 350,000 Instagram posts are uploaded. 1.2 million Skype calls are made. 21 million GB of traffic are received on the Internet.

Big data is everywhere from the Netflix shows we watch to the social media we browse. But did you know that big data can also benefit your small business?

61% of companies say that big data increases sales because it provides deep insights into customer behavior. With this valuable intelligence, you can delve deeper into the collective psyche of your customers – and find out what consumers are Yes, really think.

Imagine being able to guess what customers are buying, when and how. Big data is not a crystal ball, but it can certainly help you make smarter, faster decisions about the future of your business.

What is big data

In the simplest sense, Big Data is “large” amounts of data. It can be structured, unstructured, or semi-structured. They can be collected, shared and analyzed.

Big data is all of the information we create. Emails. Texts. Tweets. TikToks. It is data that travels from digital devices to routers to servers to clouds and back again.

To quote the famous computer programmer Daniel Keys Moran:

“You can have data without information, but you cannot have information without data.”

Here is a helpful definition of Big Data from Investopedia:

“Big data refers to the large, diverse amounts of information that are growing ever faster. They include the amount of information, the rate or speed at which it is created and collected, and the variety or size of the data points collected. Big data often comes from multiple sources and arrives in multiple formats. “

Big data isn’t perfect, but it is one of the most powerful weapons in any marketer’s arsenal. Use big data in your small business and you can move more customers through your sales and marketing funnels. As simple as that.

Here are some breathtaking facts about big data:

The benefits of big data for small businesses

Note that big data by itself is not going to do much for your business. However, the right technology systematically extracts large sets of data from various sources so that you can find patterns, trends, and correlations in that data.

The best analytical tools give you deeper insight into your business operations and replace many of the manual methods of data analysis.

Read on to learn some of the key benefits of using big data in your small business.

1. Reduces costs

Big data can have a significant impact on reducing costs in your company by identifying expensive processes and redundant workflows. With the latest data, you can find areas of your business that you can scale up or down. This can have long-term financial benefits.

2. Improve customer service

Big data ensures better customer service. With real-time insight into your customer base, you can find out how consumers think and behave – and make changes to your business as a result.

A personalized customer service, which is derived from big data analyzes, helps you to get in touch with customers on a deeper level and to provide a tailor-made service that increases sales.

“Big data is ready to help marketers reach and retain customers and prospects in ways companies are only now beginning to understand.” says business writer Allen Bernard, who writes for CIO.com. “Companies that don’t use analytics may soon see contested customers voting on their wallets.”

Customer service is more important than ever, and more and more small businesses are using big data to retain customers. Why? An increase in customer loyalty of just 5% leads to more than 25% of the profit increases.

3. Identify (and solve) problems

With big data, you can finally answer all of these nagging questions: Why are customers leaving their shopping carts? When are customers likely to make a purchase?

Data analytics tools can provide valuable insights into customer behavior as they move through your funnels.

While data analysis is not an exact science, it does give you the tools you need to solve a wide variety of complex problems in your small business. In addition to tracking customers, you can also solve problems related to suppliers, investors, and other customers. Real-time reports give you a 360-degree view of your company and enable you to make smarter decisions in the future.

4. Increase sales

Big data increases sales in a number of ways. Analytics gives you detailed information on the customer lifecycle and you can identify new ways to promote sales.

Good data can give you the confidence you need to launch a new product or diversify your business and this could prove to be lucrative.

On average, companies that integrate big data into their business achieve an 8% increase in profits. Do the same and it could be the best investment you can make in your small business this year.

“Most people used to think that big data was only for big business. But over time it becomes clear that this technology is suitable for everyone. “ says entrepreneur.

5. Team management

Big data also makes it easier to manage the team in your small business. For example, you can identify employees who bring you the most value, or those who need additional resources or training. This is because analytics systems generate insights that will help you increase productivity and keep employees happy.

“The value of big data for leadership lies in identifying and analyzing the relationship between engagement and retention.” says employee engagement website hppy. “How and why people engage with what they do, how does that translate into business metrics, and what you can do better to keep them.”

Combined with a great team culture that encourages engagement, the tech stack you use can make all the difference when it comes to managing your team. With an Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) you can connect your cloud-based apps for enriched data and the widest range of insights.

How Small Businesses Can Leverage Big Data

Remember, big data is just a piece of the pie. It is the processes and solutions that collect, store, and analyze all of your data, and you should act accordingly that will best serve your business.

How can your small business use big data to get the best results?

Use your CRM intelligently.

You probably already use a CRM to manage your customer information, but you don’t necessarily get the best results with the data in it.

Before diving into other analytical tools, do a full study of the data you already have in your CRM. Here are some valuable questions to ask yourself:

• What do we know about the people we serve?
• How can we use this data to get the most benefit?
• How can we use this data to deliver a more personalized experience?
• What automation and new processes can we drive with this data?

Discover other analytics solutions.

A CRM can only tell you so much about your prospects and customers. However, with big data analytics solutions, you can analyze all of the data in your CRM (and other programs in your tech stack) and find patterns in all of that data.

G2 Crowd is shortlisting some of the best big data solutions out there, including Azure Databricks and Splunk.

However, if you want a more accessible data strategy, start with the apps you already have and check out a platform like Clearbit to fill in the gaps in your data and expand your knowledge of your contacts.

Big data software needs to be easy to use and flexible enough for everyone on your team who manages data. It also needs to be tailored to your budget and needs. As a small business, you are unlikely to benefit from a data program designed for the largest multinationals in the world.

Integrate your data.

Any data solution is only as good as the data it uses, and out of date and inconsistent information won’t give you useful insights. You need to make sure your data is synced and integrated.

By providing an integration solution, you can keep your contact database consistent and up-to-date between apps to ensure that your customer data is well integrated in your app stack. You can synchronize contacts in real time and optimize contact management.

Create insightful reports.

Once you have interesting data on hand, you need a way to visualize it. With clear reporting, you can easily draw conclusions and share your insights with other team members and stakeholders.

Trade your data.

If you have useful data in your company, what can you do with it? The short answer: automation, personalization and customization.

Here are some of the most powerful ways to use big data as a small business:

• Personalize your email
• Segment your email lists
• Use SEO research to influence your content strategy
• Use dynamic or intelligent content on your website based on device, geography, lead status or other characteristics to customize content
• Send the most relevant content to a prospect based on their preferences
• Trigger internal workflows based on customer actions to provide the best service
• Create A / B tests for email and send the best content automatically
• Customize your company or team strategies for best performance
• Deliver the most relevant advertising and direct your spending to the best performing channels and campaigns
• Automatically organize contacts into the most relevant groups and lists in your CRM

Big data can benefit your business in a number of ways, from increased sales to better team management.

However, you need to properly use all of this data to streamline your workflow and grow your small business to its fullest potential.

Regardless of the big data processes and tools you choose, it’s important to keep your contact database up to date. Otherwise, the results you can get from your customer data will be limited.