How Can Big Data Drive Business Decisions?
In today’s data-driven world, businesses that leverage big data have the potential to unlock unprecedented growth and innovation. But how do you turn a mountain of data into meaningful, actionable insights? We’ve reached out to twelve experts, ranging from managing directors to data scientists, to uncover their strategies for using big data to make informed business decisions.
From transforming raw data into valuable insights to pinpointing customer trends, these professionals reveal how they navigate the complex world of big data to propel their businesses forward. Dive into their stories and discover how you can harness the power of data to make smarter, more impactful decisions.
- Transform Data Into Actionable Insights
- Forecast Industry Bottlenecks
- Map the Customer Experience
- Identify Key Metrics for Goals
- Create a Well-Structured Database
- Segment Audiences for Targeted Campaigns
- Enhance Strategies With Customer Data
- Unlock Insights With Data Lakes
- Inform Decisions in Real Estate
- Focus on Quality of Insights
- Transform Big Data Into Actionable Insights
- Analyze Client Activity for Informed Decisions
Transform Data Into Actionable Insights
Leveraging big data to drive business decisions involves transforming vast amounts of raw data into actionable insights that can guide strategy and operations. For example, we worked with a leading expense management company to harness the power of their extensive data using Power BI. Our client had accumulated a decade’s worth of data but needed a way to quickly and effectively analyze it to make informed business decisions.
By designing and building a data warehouse and implementing Power BI, we enabled them to gain valuable insights in seconds. This solution not only saved them immense time but also increased the availability and actionability of their data, allowing both their team and their clients to make data-driven decisions more efficiently. The scalable architecture we developed ensured that as their business grows, their data capabilities can expand alongside it, empowering them to continue leveraging big data for strategic advantage.
Sergiy Fitsak, Managing Director, Fintech Expert, Softjourn
Forecast Industry Bottlenecks
Big data allows us to have a comprehensive view of the entire supply chain, e-commerce, and logistics industries. Leveraging the data we’ve gathered for over a decade, we are able to gain a bird’s-eye view of these critical industries and forecast bottlenecks that businesses are likely to encounter.
The insights we’ve gained from leveraging these large data sets are shared with our customers who seek ship-from-China services. We are able to advise them on the challenges they are likely to face when shipping their products, especially during the peak shopping season. We also provide expert consulting on the best shipping methods to use and how to optimize processes to ensure smooth and on-time delivery of goods.
Clooney Wang, CEO, TrackingMore
Map the Customer Experience
One of the most effective ways to leverage big data is to map the customer experience. You can visualize customer interactions with your brand at different points throughout the buyer’s journey. The goal here is to minimize drop-offs and ensure a seamless transition for prospects from one stage of the journey to the next. The data helps you understand the pain points of your audience and makes it easier for you to come up with fitting strategies that help you offer a seamless customer experience.
Thomas Griffin, Co-Founder & President, OptinMonster
Identify Key Metrics for Goals
We start by identifying the key metrics that align with our goals, like user engagement, churn rate, and feature adoption. Then, we collect relevant data from all sorts of places, like user interactions within our software and customer support tickets. The next step is to use our analytics tools to dig into that data and find actionable insights.
For example, we might find that users who engage with a specific feature are 50% less likely to cancel their subscription. Armed with that knowledge, we can make smarter choices for our business. In this case, we would find ways to promote that feature more or improve onboarding to highlight it for new customers.
John Turner, Founder, SeedProd
Create a Well-Structured Database
The best way to leverage big data to fuel business decisions is to create a well-structured database. It allows you to consolidate data from different sources, manage the information with ease, and access relevant insights. You can clean the data by removing errors and anomalies, increasing the likelihood of extracting valid findings. A database also helps you protect your data from potential loss or corruption.
With the help of structured query and BI solutions, you can transform your data into actionable insights and streamline reporting through visualization. Not only does it help you make informed decisions for your business, but it also ensures transparency when it comes to concerned stakeholders.
Chris Klosowski, President, Easy Digital Downloads
Segment Audiences for Targeted Campaigns
We leverage big data to create different audience segments. Based on the buying history of our customers and data gathered through relevant channels, we come up with different customer profiles based on their demographic and psychographic characteristics. This helps us make data-driven decisions with respect to improving and promoting our solutions to the right people in the right way. It helps us design personalized campaigns that are likely to get us the best results from our initiatives.
Andrew Munro, Founder & President, AffiliateWP
Enhance Strategies With Customer Data
Leveraging big data has been pivotal in shaping our business strategies and enhancing our customer experience. We integrated data from customer feedback, sales trends, and website interactions to build a comprehensive view of our market. By applying advanced analytics, we identified patterns in customer preferences for cabinet styles and colors, which allowed us to optimize our inventory and marketing strategies.
One standout example was our approach to real-time insights. We developed a dynamic dashboard that tracks key performance metrics, such as conversion rates and customer engagement. This enabled us to quickly adjust our campaigns based on what resonated with our audience, leading to more effective promotions and higher sales. By segmenting our customers based on their buying behavior and preferences, we tailored our offerings to better meet their needs, resulting in a significant increase in customer satisfaction.
We also used A/B testing to refine our website layout and product features, ensuring we continually improve the user experience and boost conversion rates. Big data is an important part of everything we do and has helped us stay ahead of trends, optimize operations, and deliver a personalized experience that keeps our customers coming back.
Andrew Saladino, Co-Founder, Kitchen Cabinet Kings
Unlock Insights With Data Lakes
Data lakes are a game-changer when dealing with unstructured data. Imagine having access to social media feeds, log files, or even video content all in one place. This isn’t just about storing data; it’s about unlocking valuable insights that can drive strategic decisions. For instance, analyzing social media can reveal customer sentiment, helping businesses understand how they’re perceived in real-time.
Think about how invaluable logs can be in tracking user behavior on your website. These insights aren’t visible through traditional spreadsheets. For example, if multiple users are struggling with a specific feature, you can identify and resolve the issue quickly, enhancing user experience. Utilizing data lakes effectively allows businesses to react faster and stay ahead of emerging trends, ultimately giving them a competitive edge.
Cesar Cobo, Director of Operations, Webris
Inform Decisions in Real Estate
I implement data analysis techniques to help companies in the real estate industry make more informed decisions. This involves using big data to identify trends, patterns, and insights that can inform decision-making processes. It is critical for companies to effectively collect, analyze, and interpret this information to gain a competitive edge with the increasing amount of data available today.
I often prefer to utilize various tools and techniques to extract valuable insights from large datasets. This includes cleaning and organizing data, performing statistical analysis, and using data visualization methods to communicate findings.
In the real estate industry, there is a vast amount of data available, including market trends, housing prices, demographics, and more. One example of how I have helped a real estate company is by analyzing housing market trends to identify areas with high demand for specific types of properties. This information enabled the company to adjust its portfolio and focus on properties that were in high demand, resulting in increased sales and profitability.
Well, data analysis allows for predictive modeling, which can forecast future market trends and assist companies in making proactive decisions rather than reactive ones. This is especially valuable in the fast-paced real estate industry where timing is crucial.
Michael Benoit, Founder, ContractorBond.org
Focus on Quality of Insights
As an entrepreneur who has heavily invested in data analysis, I’ve learned that leveraging big data isn’t just about the quantity of information, but the quality of insights we derive from it.
We always start by clearly defining our business objectives. What problem are we trying to solve? What decisions do we need to make? This helps us focus our analysis and avoid getting lost in a sea of data.
We use a combination of predictive and prescriptive analytics tools. Predictive analytics helps us forecast future trends based on historical data, while prescriptive analytics suggests concrete actions to take.
A crucial aspect is integrating data from various sources—sales, marketing, operations, social media, etc. This gives us a 360-degree view of our business and our customers.
We don’t underestimate the importance of data visualization. We create interactive dashboards that allow decision-makers to explore data intuitively and quickly grasp key trends.
But the real value isn’t in the data itself, but in our ability to translate it into concrete actions. We regularly organize brainstorming sessions with cross-functional teams to interpret results and develop data-driven strategies.
Ultimately, the goal is to create a data-driven company culture, where every decision is supported by solid empirical evidence.
Paolo Cernigliaro, Founder & CEO, Partita Iva S.r.l.
Transform Big Data Into Actionable Insights
In the rapidly-evolving landscape of technology, the ability to transform vast amounts of big data into actionable insights is crucial. To achieve this, I adhere to several best practices. First and foremost, ensuring data quality and standardization across diverse sources creates a reliable foundation for analysis. This foundation then enables the effective use of advanced analytics techniques, such as machine learning and predictive modeling, to uncover hidden patterns and trends.
However, these findings must be contextualized within the broader ecosystem to ensure relevance and applicability. Clear, interpretable visualizations are essential for effectively communicating complex insights to stakeholders at all levels. Underpinning all of these practices should be a robust data governance framework that maintains privacy, security, and ethical use of sensitive information.
By synthesizing big data through these methods, data professionals can more effectively bridge the gap between raw information and meaningful, implementable solutions to complex challenges, ultimately driving innovation and improving outcomes.
Auro Patnaik, Senior Data Scientist, Accushield
Analyze Client Activity for Informed Decisions
We use big data to analyze client activity, identify areas of improvement, and empower our clients to make informed decisions.
Our team’s continuous client performance analysis allows us to identify areas of success and quickly address any challenges. This enables our team to be proactive in our sales, product, and marketing efforts.
With real-time data, we help clients set competitive hourly rates and make well-informed decisions on the workers they select for their shifts. Our team uses this data to provide enlightened recommendations and ensure our clients find the best talent for their needs.
We understand the critical role data plays in our business, and we strive to make data-driven insights available to our clients to help generate better business outcomes.
Bruce Brownlee, Data Scientist, shiftNOW
