The days of making business decisions off of a whim are long over. At least, such is the case for the most successful companies today – they rely on data. The most valuable resource a business has to accelerate its growth is data. It answers nearly every question a company has about its brand, customers, and market.
What is “big data”?
It can be an ambiguous term, but big data ultimately describes the colossal amount of complex information (data) that grows over time.
Here is a shortlist of how companies use big data today to accelerate growth.
Improving search rankings
Just because a business is available doesn’t mean they are easily accessible. Buyers need help finding the brands that feature the products or services they are looking for.
When companies want to know what messages to use to attract their target audiences in search engines, data can expose what keywords drive the most website traffic and the search terms used to find similar companies.
Data provides valuable information to companies about what pages are clicked on the most and what content visitors are interacting with, so they can improve them.
Understanding customer behavior
Nearly 60% of the world’s population is online. So for companies to know the best ways to reach their target audiences, they look at data to understand where customers are and how they behave across various channels.
Data can show companies what customers purchase based on their interests, what they are motivated by, their intention when browsing a website, and their preferences. These strategic insights are valuable in generating more revenue. Research shows businesses that leverage customer behavior data for insights outperform peers by 85% in sales growth.
Monitoring competitors
It’s difficult for competitors to keep their secrets to themselves anymore. Data gives businesses access to how competitors are performing.
Companies can monitor competitors and use data to learn when they see success and failure and track other changes in their business.
Data will reveal how the market responds to new pricing strategies and the launch of new products. Companies use this information to check the temperature of the market. It also helps guide sales strategies and gives companies the ability to maximize any opportunity to take advantage of competitive weaknesses.
Keeping up with trends
Fads can appear and disappear overnight. Trends develop over time but can also end without notice. When companies monitor the market, they can learn about trends taking form and watch as audience behavior shifts.
Data can make trends easy to spot if companies want to keep up – from product interests to technologies to what new social media platforms are becoming more popular.
Insights on trends can help companies stay current and predict future behavior based on their gathered information.
Enhancing the buying experience
Businesses want to get their products in front of audiences who will convert and then create an enjoyable customer experience that keeps them returning. Data can show companies how buyers prefer to engage so they can enhance their experiences.
Knowing how long visitors browse around a website, what marketing activities they interact with before purchase, and what items are most popular are valuable insights when looking to optimize business models.
Companies use data to implement more effective targeted marketing campaigns. For example, data provides information on how impactful an email promotion was, how discounts are received, and the click-through rates on other communications.
Delivering on expectations
Today’s consumers have set the bar high in what is required to purchase. But unfortunately, simply being valuable isn’t enough for most.
Businesses have to deepen their level of interaction and respond quickly to customers if they want to have the best chance of keeping them. Data insights can help companies decide whether or not to expedite shipping at specific pricing levels, when to incorporate 24/7 customer support options, and when to stock up on the most popular products.
Data provides insights that can enable companies to serve their customers better and deliver on expectations as they grow.
Making smarter business decisions
Businesses can’t afford to be wrong too often. Data acts as a navigator when deciding where to prioritize efforts and launch campaigns to aggrandize the brand.
Historically, companies have had to cipher through dozens of data silos to extract insights and value. Now there are companies that can instantly analyze brand performance and make recommendations on how to improve marketing effectiveness.
Data helps companies make evidence-based decisions that can improve their outcomes.
Put data to work
With an estimated 213 million companies active worldwide, brands must find unique ways to stand out in today’s market. Data is the most reliable asset that companies can use.
When companies gain easy access to helpful information, they are empowered to solve problems faster, mitigate risk, and drive growth.
