The term “big data” was coined in the early 2000s, used to describe the massive wealth of information relating to human behavior that had been carefully tracked and traced online for over a decade. For businesses, the availability of detailed patterns and trends associated with how consumers respond and react to specific products and promotions has been a game changer. No longer dependent on guessing the best way to approach potential customers, companies can now use data to construct more accurate and meaningful lines of communication with their consumers, and improve their business model thanks to the wealth of information that big data provides.
1. Show, Don’t Tell
Rather than writing lengthy, tedious product descriptions and a potentially bland “about me” page, companies today are utilizing data to create more meaningful marketing campaigns. When it comes to making the most of the massive scale of available data today, it’s worth it for companies to adopt the philosophy ‘show, don’t tell’. Using a combination of attractive user-friendly websites, social media, and creative personalized marketing campaigns, companies can now abandon dull stagnant content and show consumers why they are worth paying attention to.
Big data can help companies construct more informative communication based on individual consumer needs, via interactive social tools, like chatbots. Additionally, detailed data allows companies to construct personalized advertisements, which shows potential customers that your business is willing to go the extra mile to give them what they want.
2. Make Your Business Model More Flexible
Big data has made room for more and more businesses to reach their target market with increased accuracy. As a result, targeted marketing has highlighted opportunities for companies to expand their business model. Detailed data gives businesses a sense of exactly what is expected by their target markets based on their browsing history and purchasing patterns, thus allowing them to identify potential consumers based on similar patterns and activity.
This vast pool of data that can be easily accessed, analyzed, and then translated into marketable campaigns and advertisements encourages more companies to think outside the box.
3. Encourage Customers to Come Back
Since the early days of the internet, digital social networks have been forming, creating global communities that heavily influenced the way companies do business today. Since then there has been a steady shift of businesses opening online stores, some of them shutting down their physical locations entirely. In addition to lowering overhead costs, increasing consumer reach and tapping into a digitally-savvy generation, online businesses can utilize big data to build a loyal consumer base.
Big data has illuminated the details of consumer needs and expectations, allowing companies to curate their offers in addition to finding ways to increase customer engagement through methods such as retargeting and segmented marketing campaigns. Tracking purchasing history, as well as online activity, enables businesses to stay one step ahead, providing potential customers relevant offerings based on their previous online activity.
4. Leave More Room For Creativity
Big data has resulted in the myriad of changes in the way that companies do business today. Such changes include the implementation of machine learning, such as chatbots and programmatic advertising, which makes it easier than ever for sales teams and marketers to reach their consumers directly. While at first, it may sound like there will soon be no use for humans in the workplace, machines should be treated as a compliment, not a replacement.
Marketers can then use this information to enhance the creative process, devising campaigns that are dynamic and engaging based on customer needs. Predictive data analysis gives market researchers the advantage of knowing exactly what potential customers are looking for in a product, allowing them to improve campaigns, which are more meaningful thanks to the information taken from big data.
Whether you are an early stage startup or an established corporation, adapting your marketing efforts to meet the needs of today’s consumers is largely dependent on tapping into big data. With the majority of companies utilizing data to re-imagine their business models, more businesses have been able to improve their marketing efforts, resulting in more loyal consumers and an uptick in revenue.
