Big Data is a powerful marketing tool. It can be analysed in all sorts of ways to bring further financial value to a business. Let’s imagine a hypothetical electrical store where you have just purchased a huge new TV. The company need to deliver the TV, so you give them your name, address and telephone number to facilitate a smooth and convenient delivery. The company will likely open a file on you and keep this information handy along with any other purchases you’ve made from them and when. All of this data can build up a pretty good image of who you are, what you buy, what your interests are, how this compares to other people in your area, age or peer group.
Usually this information can be sold to other companies who collate all of this data from thousands of other business as well as social media, and other sources. This has been a common practice since the 2000s when an analyst called Doug Laney defined the terms of this data with his three Vs.
Volume
The amount of data collected from a large number of sources. Recent years have seen major developments in our capability to store these vast amounts of data
Velocity
Put simply, this is the high speed as which data comes in and builds up. It must be dealt with and organised correctly at tremendous speed to keep up with supply and demand.
Variety
Data comes in all formats. Unstructured and structured text, email, numbers, photos, video, audio, stock data and financial data. Again, this adds to the difficulties in storing so many different types of data.
The amount of data being stored around the world is unimaginably large, and is growing larger every day. So why is all of this important? Well, the next step once these companies have bought and stored the data, they can analyse the trends across unthinkably large demographics and make some pretty informed decisions. The information can be sold to relevant companies the world over. Companies can find out the root causes of failures of products, or promote certain products with a customised promotion aimed at you – we’ve al had websites suggest products we might like in their pop up adverts that are eerily close to our actual tastes, or perhaps with your TV purchase you receive a coupon for 20% off blu ray players or a subscription TV service. The data can also be used to spot fraudulent activity before it affects businesses.
In short, knowledge is power, so Big Data is a big deal for a lot of people. But its not just businesses are using this information to make money; Big Data is also useful in other sectors such as education, where shared data can help spot at-risk students, and ensure that students are making progress in line with the rest of the country. We also see the data used in health care, where the uses like sharing patient records and health trends can help organisations like the WHO keep track of and ultimately control epidemic diseases.
In short, the power of big data is immense. Almost collected organically, the way in which the data is stored and used is able to make a difference between a successful business and an unsuccessful one. For example, the electrical store who collects the information of its purchasers and then does nothing with it isn’t taking advantage of any opportunities to make more money! The electrical store who calls its previous customers and invites them down to an exclusive new product launch is ensuring it can make some money from big data. The uses are almost endless and the power of big data can make or break a business.
Author: Bidtracker team
