Paint by numbers: using Big Data for your customer portrait
While it has been a long while since I wrote “What’s the Big Deal about Big Data?” I haven’t stopped thinking about turning this into a series of LinkedIn articles
My last promise to those who are following along, was to delve more specifically into where we can leverage Big Data for an exceptional understanding of our customers.
Painting a portrait, if you will, out of data points. The reality is, there are SO MANY opportunities! We generate data constantly, especially in our near-constant connectedness.
I am of the belief, that data, especially Big Data, can be used by an organization of any size, to create unique, and worthwhile experiences for their customers. Here’s why.
Data impacts ALL facets of a business. Yes. All of them.
And in truth, these days customers are seeking a holistically better experience. From exceptional shipping times, to personalized recommendations, and gold-star customer service, we want it all, and we want it yesterday. We can voice our opinions quickly, and fiercely across social media, leaving many companies working to create something seamless. Even in the scientific, and political worlds, the public has access and insight into process more than ever before.
How can Big Data help us out, to create cohesive experiences that exceed expectations? Let’s take a look.
One of the things that Big Data can do, is provide a rich tapestry of insight into customer behaviour. Since there is simply MORE data, we have a higher chance at a more accurate representation of our desired population. The richer tapestry is also formed as the data comes from many sources.
A richer picture of customer behaviour
Customers generate a LOT of data. From geographic information, to purchase patterns, organizations have an opportunities to really understand their customers. The move to digital marketing has also allowed for optimal data collection. Not only can we understand how our target market interacts with our latest campaign (say, how many 25–30 year olds interacted with that Facebook ad we put out?) we can draw parallels from other data to pain a richer picture. Organizations can use time data to see how customers behave at various points in the day. They can look at patterns in their website, to determine how users are able to find information. They can even see if customers in specific areas of the world, have similar usage patterns!
This knowledge from analytical insight is powerful. It arms us with the ability to cater to customers at a niche, individual level. Since the world is so interconnected thanks to digital innovation, personalization is key to winning customer favour.
Marketing innovations
Often driven by the richer picture of customer behaviour, marketing can get smarter thanks to Big Data. For example, leveraging demographic, behaviour, and spending data, organizations can get their pricing strategies at a near-customized level. Optimizing pricing based on customer demographics is becoming more achievable. This results in more wins along the way, and in turn, more profit.
In addition, Big Data unlocks the potential secrets of customer loyalty. By leveraging all of the analytics available, an organization can further define and guide customer development. Analysis can highlight opportunities for cross or upselling based on probability. For instance, if a customer has been buying tennis balls for the past 5 years, it is probable they will need a new racket soon. Applying this logic to B2B and B2C customers can extend the customer lifetime. As organizations get smarter about custom recommendations (thanks to Big Data), customers feel more heard, and tend to be more loyal.
Customer Service and operations
When you dig into the reviews of an organization, bad customer service is often a top cited complaint. Customers really dislike long wait times, confusing chains of command, and impersonal service.
How can Big Data help us with this?
Well, for one, it can help organizations tap into the vast space of social media. With thousands to millions of posts a day, it can be tough to get to every comment or post made by a customer. Thanks to technology, we customers are an impatient bunch, with 75% of people who reach out to an organization for support via social media, expecting a response within the hour1. Fast responses are crucial to good customer experiences.
Using Big Data technologies, organizations can track negative comments, and respond to customer problems. It may even illuminate issues you didn’t even know you were having, such as a service being down. Customers tend to voice their frustrations regularly on their social media channels! If you pick up on an increase of comments about an “outage”, you can easily address it.
Organizations can also use data from their customer service teams to improve inefficiencies that may frustrate customers. For instance, in exploring customer survey answers, and combining that data with average response times to inquiries, an organization may uncover that a specific inquiry takes longer to solve than others. This is then identified as an area of improvement for the customer service team.
Additional opportunities
Innovation opportunities driven by Big Data span far across marketing and customer-facing operations. Behind the scenes, Big Data is impacting everything from Supply Chains and Research and Development, to corporate Risk Management.
For example, we can equip products with RFID (radio frequency identification devices) tags. These tags help supply chain managers enjoy improved product tracing. By tracking the product throughout its journey, it is less likely that products will fail to make it to production. Looking at the data, supply chain stakeholders can easily identify bottlenecks in transportation and loading, or see where the chain is likely breaking down. This leads to streamlined processes, and opportunities for greater efficiency.
In my future pieces I will dive deeper into these additional innovation opportunities, with specific examples of just how revolutionary Big Data can be. Data can even help your organization become “psychic”! Data can help us make predictions that have far-reaching positive impacts.
— -
Emily is a self-proclaimed data nerd, passionate about using the insights we gain from data to produce incredible products and experiences. Follow her journey into the world of data, tech, product, and user/customer experience here on LinkedIn!
— -
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.
