Six ways data is changing business as we know it
Working with big data allows companies to get insights in ways that would either have remained hidden or been too time-consuming to extract without the help of technology.
It has reshaped the business world and will continue to do for the foreseeable future, especially as big data platforms become more advanced. Here are six ways big data is reshaping business today.
If customers get upset after doing business with a company, some may get so fed up that they leave and never come back. Others do not have terrible experiences, but they conclude the enterprise does not meet their needs as well as a competitor could.
On the other side of things, keeping customers happy increases the chances they will keep doing business with the brand and tell their friends about their positive experiences. Focusing on the customer experience also allows companies to add elements of personalization that promote engagement.
Big data allows companies to move away from making assumptions and operate in ways that help them make defined conclusions about what customers want and need. At the Sainsbury’s grocery store chain, a big data platform processes 300 checkout transactions per second and collects them for use in future discussions on how to enhance shoppers’ overall experiences.
Big data also allows companies to take proactive approaches by connecting with customers before they even express needs. In one of the best-known early examples of this approach, Target correctly predicted a teen’s pregnancy before her dad knew about it. The brand did so by identifying 25 products that indicate childbearing when purchased together.
In a more recent case, a hospital achieved a 2,000-to-one return on investment by identifying women over age 40 who had not received mammograms in the past year and sent them targeted messages. The health system also sent content to local physicians to tell them about an outpatient imaging center where patients could go for their breast checks.
Businesses must be careful when using big data to inform their operations in the ways described here. In some cases, customers view targeted outreach as helpful, but in others, they see the efforts as instances where companies overstep boundaries and edge into the realm of being creepy.
It encourages businesses to use data in new ways
Big data platforms also give business leaders the tools they need to save time. For example, IntelliAct technology streamlines document and template creation and maintenance. Employees can use natural language statements to control the flow of data creation. Moreover, they can access every element of a database without writing complex queries.
Many people in the corporate sector may not immediately connect big data to the ability to create documents faster than before.
