Best Practices Learned From Big Data Projects
Big data could reap large benefits for companies but only if they establish processes for data collection and analyses tied to specific use cases. Otherwise, a company might have tremendous amounts of data and feel so overwhelmed they’ll have no idea how to start mining through it to find gems that promote business growth.
Measurable results are possible only with the correct approaches.
Big data critics sometimes argue data is very impersonal and reduces human beings down to nothing more than numbers, percentages and graph points. However, British Airways boldly turned that perception on its head withthe Know Me program. It’s a customer-centric campaign driven by big data.
Airline representatives get alerts when customers have experienced prior delays, allowing them to better prepare to smooth things over and ease frazzled nerves. Similar information gets sent before business-class travelers, frequent flyers or other types of customers start their British Airways experiences.
The Know Me initiative works because it adds a welcome element of personalization to traveling by plane. When considering ways to make big data work best, don’t just focus on your own needs and goals. Think about how newly gained insight could show customers they’re valued. If that happens, your business should prosper too.
When people think of typical ways to rely on big data, retroactive use comes to mind. Executives might examine sales of a product over five years and use that type of big data to decide whether to discontinue the product or keep selling it.
However, Netflix emerged as a pioneer whenit took information from big datato create a fantastically popular TV show we all know today as “House of Cards.” Although the streaming company does look at data about things users watch and gives suggestions about other enjoyable titles within the site’s selection, “House of Cards” was born when Netflix’s representatives analyzed big data to determine what users would like to see most.
All that knowledge went into creating content that hadn’t existed previously on the site. It was an unconventional move that paid off.
