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Blog posts tagged big data
Forget big data - small data can help you now
February 19, 2015
Big data is the idea that businesses can start combining and mining the data they own in order to identify new opportunities and make decisions. It’s, well, big at the moment.
But there’s a problem. According to research by Rosslyn Analytics, only 23% of UK decision-makers closely align business strategy to data. And just 44% of business leaders consider their data a strategic asset. You can download the whole report here.
Respondents said that the biggest challenge to using their data effectively was that there are too many types of data and that data comes from too many sources.
And they have a point. Big data is intimidating, especially if you run a smaller company that isn’t able to employ a data analyst or bring in a consultant.
In that case, maybe you should start smaller.
With that in mind, here are four practical ways your business can collect and use data on a smaller scale. You don’t need a degree in maths or statistics to get started.
1. Jump into your web analytics
How often do you check your website statistics? No, really, when was the last time you logged in to Google Analytics? (If you don’t collect data on your website usage, you really should and it’s fairly easy to get started.)
Website statistics packages accumulate a lot of data. If you’re looking for easy ways to improve your website, you could start in these areas:
- Check how many visitors use mobile devices. In Google Analytics, select Audience > Mobile > Overview in the left navigation. You’ll see what percentage of people arrive at your site on a mobile device. If it’s a significant proportion, the data is telling you to spend some time making sure the mobile experience of your website is up to scratch.
- See which three pages get most views. On most websites, a few pages receive the majority of traffic. Checking which are your most popular pages will help you focus your work on the areas of your website which attract most eyeballs. In Google Analytics, choose Behaviour > Site Content > All Pages.
- Check your top landing pages. The moment people first see your site is crucial. Give the wrong impression and they’ll bounce back off to wherever they were before. In Google Analytics, select Behaviour > Site Content > Landing Pages. Review the top four or five pages listed – these landing page tips are a good place to start.
2. Fire up your accounting reports
If you use accounting software — particularly modern packages like QuickBooks Online — you’ll find you have easy access to a range of reports that can delve deep into your figures.
It’s not uncommon for these reports to stay unused. But if you want to understand your financials, playing around in these reports can be much more enlightening than wading through pages of figures.
Here are some ideas:
- Viewing sales grouped by customers can help you understand who your best customers are. You might also be able to identify when clients are beginning to spend more with you (can you lock them in with a discount?), or if a previously loyal customer is cutting back spending.
- Checking your business expenses is a key step in identifying ways to cut costs. You won’t always notice if expenditure is creeping up month-on-month, but if you take five minutes to check the report you’ll soon know when this is the case.
- Reviewing your stock list helps you evaluate how much money is tied up in products you sell, and can make it easier to plan sales and discounts. It also helps you estimate when you’re going to run out of popular lines, so you can reorder in good time and avoid disappointing customers.
If you’re not already using accounting software in your business, it’s a powerful way to save time and get your head round your finances. Learn more about accounting software.
3. Run a quick survey
Market research doesn’t have to involve masses of survey questions, months of work and a chunky report that tries to define your business strategy for years to come. You can learn a lot by running short, snappy surveys. For instance:
- Ask website visitors a single question. Tool like Qualaroo can pop up a question as people leave your website. Questions like ‘what were you looking for here today?’ or ‘did you find what you wanted?’ can help you understand what’s missing from your \site.
- Contact your newest customers. What made these people choose you? Are they happy with the service you’ve provided? What could you have done better? It’s easy to create a short survey using a tool like Typeform, then email to a few new customers.
- Ask employees what they think. Some business owners are great at soliciting ideas from their teams. Others are rubbish at it. Why not send round a survey (again, try Typeform or SurveyMonkey) that asks an easy question, like what’s the one thing they’d change about the office?
Quick-fire surveys are an excellent way to gain a better understanding of what people do or don’t like about your business.
You can learn things from even the smallest surveys, but be wary of using single pieces of feedback to justify big changes. It’s best to act only when you can see a clear pattern to the comments you’re receiving.
Beat bigger competitors with business intelligence
July 31, 2014
Smaller companies make a major contribution to the UK economy, helping increase employment and playing a key role in the ongoing recovery from recession.
In fact, according to the Federation of Small Businesses, small companies accounted for 47% of private sector employment and 33.1% of turnover at the start of 2013.
Of course, that doesn’t make it easy to compete with large, multi-national corporations with their huge marketing budgets and large, diverse workforces.
But in a business world increasingly dominated by big data, limited budgets and personnel no longer need hold smaller companies back.
What is big data?
Regardless of their size, companies with the ability to process and analyse customer data have an immediate advantage.
That data contains answers to questions that can help organisations succeed, like:
- How much are customers willing to pay for our products?
- What kinds of products should we develop next?
- What’s the best location for us to open our next shop?
- Which advertising methods are working best for us?
- What are our biggest upsell opportunities?
- What kinds of customers are most and least profitable?
Business intelligence (BI) software can help you use data you collect to answer questions like these.
It can give you visibility into customer buying habits and trends that may enable you to stay ahead of the competition. Here’s how:
1. It puts time on your side
Business intelligence software organises data so you can quickly access the most important information about every customer. That might include their purchasing history, or what they are and aren’t happy about.
Assembling, maintaining and finding this information manually would be labour-intensive. But because business intelligence puts these insights at your fingertips, you know each customer inside out. As a result, you can provide unparalleled service.
2. Sell proactively, not reactively
Business intelligence software can identify customer buying patterns. For example, if you sell disposable contact lenses, it could flag up when a regular customer is likely to run out. Then you can swoop in with a personalised offer, to make sure you get the repeat business.
You can also identify opportunities for cross and upselling. Your sales team can identify likely prospects more easily, rather than relying on speculative cold calls, which can alienate customers and prove demoralising for your staff.
3. Don’t waste any information
Business intelligence enables you to identify wider customer trends too, from showing your best-selling products to providing insights into seasonal changes.
This can help you run highly targeted promotions and marketing campaigns that are based on data and fact, rather than on your gut feelings.
If you’re trying to compete against bigger businesses with their bigger budgets, this knowledge will help you really understand your customers. As a result, you’ll sell more, retain existing customers and win new ones.
- How big data can benefit small businesses
- There’s beauty in business data
- Customer relationship software
This post is by Paul Black, CEO of sales-i.
Democratising big data: how it can benefit SMEs
October 22, 2012
Could data cause a brainstorm in your business? (Image: Kevin Krejci on Flickr)
Today, many organisations are awash with data, having amassed more information than they can easily store or manage. Analyst IDC recently released a worldwide big data technology and services forecast showing the market is expected to grow from $3.2 billion in 2010 to $16.9 billion in 2015.
Today, rather than just amassing big data, companies are doing things with it – finding ways to process, analyse and mine data to make more informed business decisions.
Democratic big data
Big data is also becoming more democratic as smaller organisations with fewer resources look to technologies that can level the playing field with larger enterprises, helping them to use data effectively too.
So, what’s the solution that will allow smaller companies to turn their big data into commercial benefits?
The open source connection is key here. Indeed, the rate at which the popularity and usefulness of big data has grown can be directly attributed to open source software, free access to which enables organisations to customise applications to their specific situations.
The leading big data platform, Hadoop, is an open-source framework for processing and analysing vast volumes of data. It provides the most effective way to address the big data challeng, getting the job done faster, more accurately and at a fraction of the price of alternative solutions.
Hadoop and other open source technologies help provide a scalable way to manage large volumes of data. They are especially effective when coupled with open source data management, data quality and integration software solutions from vendors like Talend, the company I work for.
This powerful combination enables the smallest enterprise to tackle their big data issues, improve decision-making capability and achieve the holy grail of competitive advantage over larger business rivals.
Boost customer retention
Today, there are a range of different ways in which open source is helping open up big data to smaller companies. Customer retention is one area where you can see big benefits. Large enterprises have been using complex techniques to measure the likelihood that customers may be enticed away for a number of years.
But it's only now that these customer profiling and competitor analysis tools are becoming available to small companies.
This new accessibility of big data is bringing many practical advantages, making it much more cost-effective to use information to drive competitive edge. The latest generation of open source solutions makes it possible for your business to become more agile, attracting and retaining customers while lowering IT costs and making operations more efficient.
Yves de Montcheuil is VP of Marketing at Talend.
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