What is Big Data Analytics?
Big data is a term used to describe large volumes of data that could be structured, unstructured, or semi-structured. Big data also updates very quickly, often in real time, and contains many different types of information. It is because of these factors that different ways of analysing this data must be used. The analysis of the data can show trends and correlations that would have been invisible otherwise and these findings can lead to changes within a business that can give them the edge over their competitors; ultimately boosting profits and customer satisfaction. The most valuable use of Big Data in our market is to target the right customers, leveraging information to offer the right product to the right person at the right time.
How is the Data Analysed?
There are several ways that the data can be analysed including:
- Data mining – Involves looking for patterns that can connect two events in a number of ways. For example if one event happens it causes another event to happen.
- Text mining – Involves looking through text based sources of data such as social media sites and word documents in an attempt to find potentially useful information.
- Predictive analysis – A form of data mining that looks at any number of variables to attempt to determine the behaviour of something in the future.
- Statistical analysis – Involves looking at the relation between the data gathered and how that data relates to the population it was gathered from, while testing the validity of the gathered data.
- Matching communications responses to demographics on a large scale to test channels and methods.
How Does This Help Businesses?
The analysis of big data can have many benefits for businesses, largely getting to their target market at the right time. This allows for higher volumes for targeting, increasing profits as the information needed is available much faster and more efficiently. Customer satisfaction also gets a boost from big data analysis as the rapid processing of data gives detailed and current information about what customers thinking, both in terms of your business and what customers are interested at that moment in time, making it easier to give the customers what they want. However Big Data should not stand alone. All hypotheses should be tested and retested to ensure that the results are correct. As with Big Data you can have Big Success or equally Big Errors without a sanity check.
1 Stop Data can provide the precise data you need to back up your analysis so you can make the right decisions for your business.
