The use of Big Data and data analysis holds huge potential for businesses. It can have an impact at almost every level of an organisation, so much so that more and more companies are now investing in it in a big way. In fact, a recent survey conducted by leading research and advisory company Gartner reports that 48-percent of companies have invested in Big Data in 2016, up by 3-percent from 2015.

When managed and interpreted the right way, data yields plenty of benefits, one of which is its ability to reveal previously unseen opportunities organisations can use to develop a competitive advantage. Proper analysis is key to discovering these data-based nuggets of wisdom.

Location, Location, Location

One way certain organisations can use Big Data to reveal opportunities is through geospatial analysis. Referring to information related to a particular location, geospatial data comes from a variety of sources, including radio-frequency identification (RFID), beacons, global positioning systems (GPS), cell towers, and even the Internet of Things (IoT). This type of data can be used to expand and give more context to the overall data ecosystem used by businesses who rely on location-based tools, systems, and services. Location data can be used to reveal relationships between data sets that were not otherwise apparent. The usage of geospatial data analysis has many applications, which include:

• Geo-enrichment (attributes of a physical address, which are important in informing insurance providers, allowing them to provide a more informed confidence code)
• Improving customer experiences through in-store location technology
• Visualising data in maps/infographics rather than just using spreadsheets or charts, which can expose proximity relationships and trends

These uses of data can ignite innovation in location-based services, decision-making, and marketing. To take advantage of this data, you must begin to think about how much the concept of location matters to your company. Doing so enables you to determine which data and data relationships are relevant and needed (and those that aren’t) to uncover opportunities, making your efforts more efficient.

Big Data Delivers Big Marketing

As we pointed out in previous posts, simply having data is not enough—it’s what you do with it that matters. This is especially true in marketing.

So, how can Big Data reveal marketing opportunities? There are several areas that can be informed with Big Data. Marketing tactics can be guided and enhanced with the ability to go deeper into the data. Think of an onion and its many layers, which can be peeled back to reveal ever deeper insights. To better understand what the opportunities are, think about your most vital objectives and how your data can help you achieve them in your marketing.

Here are some examples:

• Use data and data analysis to create even more exact customer personas. There is no need to guess anymore about who your customers are. Your data can build better personas based on the information you have gathered about demographics, preferences, behaviours, lifestyle, and more.
• Deliver real-time personalisation. It’s all about the right message at the right time. Big Data provides timely insights, showing you who is engaging with your content at any specific moment. Use this data to send them more relevant offers or content based on the products or topics they frequently check out. One example of this is multinational fashion retailer TopShop partnering with Twitter to analyse real-time trends during the 2015 London Fashion Week. Trends were grouped on billboards based on hashtags. Customers walking by were able to see them and add their own tweets around their favourites. They then received a curated response from the brand with top picks just for them, based on their input.
• Identify content that yields conversions. Big Data analysis can determine the success of content. However, just looking at views or clicks isn’t enough. You should go deeper and find relevant specifics such as the popular topics, most-read formats, and most-used channels which moved the consumers’ needle towards conversion.

Using Predictive Analytics to Achieve Insightful Lead Scoring

Predictive analytics includes various data streams to analyse current and past information to determine trends that can then predict future outcomes. It’s a great way to know what your customers want, even before they realise they want it, and prepare your company for changes in the industry.

As such, there is great value in predictive lead scoring as a means to derive clear indications about a prospect’s digital behaviours. Your closed “won” leads have specific bits of important data, allowing you to understand what actions prospects take before conversion. You can then score them more accurately and paint a better picture of what your market wants or needs.

Proactive Product Development

Your data holds the answer to what products you should develop next. Product development should be informed by the needs of your customers and current and future trends in the market. Where does the data I can use come from? It’s mostly found in the interactions your customers have with your brand. Reviews, social media engagement, customer service calls, and surveys are all data sources you can use to derive insights for proactive product development.

Once you have the idea, predictive modelling can forecast the performance of the product in the market both pre- and post-launch and determine optimal distribution strategies.

A Big Risk of Ignoring Big Data

Not leveraging Big Data to uncover opportunities can have negative effects on your business in terms of future planning. In fact, in a study done by CIO Insight, it was found that three out of five business leaders believe that failure to embrace Big Data will result in obsolescence. Obsolescence is obviously something a company doesn’t want to experience as it negatively affects the consumers’ perception of the brand, product development, and inventory.

Your brand can either move forward or fall behind. If you want to find opportunities, Big Data is an important resource. Retailers who use Big Data have the capability of increasing operating margin by up to 60-percent. Isn’t that worth the investment to achieve this kind of return?

How Optus Uses Big Data to Capitalise

Telecommunications firm Optus is currently using Big Data to enhance its business practices. Their program is centred on understanding the underlying needs of different buying personas.

Optus starts with structured data provided on sign-up such as name, address, and date of birth. This allows for initial segmentation before the data grows as customers interact with the brand in other ways. Tracking customer-brand interactions and product use helps the brand see if there are quality or service issues as well. The insights gathered can have positive effects and uncover opportunities in the areas of product development, customer targeting, and after-sales service.

The customer profiles continue to build based on the customer’s usage patterns of Optus’ products. These profiles tell the company how customers use their data, whether it be to post on social media or to stream videos. This is where hidden insights appear. It’s not just how much data the customer uses, it’s also how their data is used. This results to a more proactive and streamlined approach in terms of product/service planning in the future, built around how their consumers are using their data.

Optus also looked at the situations where customers travelling abroad weren’t able to use their devices and services. They then send special deals on data roaming charges to customers who travel internationally. This has led to an opportunity to drive more targeted promotions and increase the chances of more conversions for Optus.

Big Data is the Opportunity Itself!

In this sense, Big Data is an opening in itself to unlock more opportunities your business could capitalise on. However, you’ll need proper data analysis and interpretation to do so. Latize’s intelligent data management system Ulysses enables you to harmonise internal and external data sets and derive the needed insights about your operations, customers, and the market, among others, to enhance decision-making, strategies, and your business in general. Learn how Latize can make your data work for you today.