Data is big business! It's the world's most valuable resource. Named the 'oil of the digital era' by the Economist, the abundance of data is fundamentally changing the nature of business as we know it. With advances in robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning ushering in a new age of automation, leaders in every sector will soon have to grapple with the reality of big data and how they can use it to drive business innovations.
Companies that embrace the full range of opportunities available won't just gain competitive advantage, they will also transform their business models and industries by driving growth in new sectors and new ways. An effective approach is no longer just the responsibility of IT departments, but the entire business must be involved in the transformation, success requires:
- A data strategy that identifies and capitalises on new opportunities
- Developing a culture of innovation and experimentation to get the most from your data
- Building trust with your partners and customers who hold the key to your data
- Understanding the need for new skills within your team and supporting them with training
- Finding ways to gain insight and implement results efficiently and accurately
While most businesses know that more data means more insights, better decision-making and ultimately, when the right action is taken, a boost in profits, many are unsure of how to implement such strategies. Start small, take little steps, and build your plan out from there.
Here are three top companies who are already reaping the rewards from having an effective data analytics strategy:
1. Amazon
The online retail giant, Amazon, unsurprisingly has access to a lot of data... Not only names and addresses but also search history, basket abandonment and purchases. While this information is used to inform their advertising strategies, suggest you further products to purchase, Amazon also use this data to improve their customer relationships.
The Amazon customer service team have access to the most pertinent information about you, including your recent purchases and any problems that you may have had with your orders. This allows for a faster and more satisfying customer service experience, keeping their customers coming back.
They are also a leader in 'collaborative filtering' which analyses your previous purchases, your shopping cart, your wish list, which products you review and rate/ don't rate and other customers data to recommend additional products that it thinks you'll be interested. This method increases Amazon's revenue by 30% annually.
2. Intel
Intel have been harnessing the power of data analytics and big data for years! They have an extremely rigorous and complicated process for testing their processor chips which were time-consuming, and sometimes problematic, which led them to predictive analytics for a solution.
Using the power of big data and analysis, Intel were able to significantly reduce the number of tests that each chip had to go through for quality assurance.
Their performance report said: “With sensor data collected from the equipment in each factory, the manufacturing IT data analysis team developed a tool able to process over five billion points per day of sensor data”.
“This tool detects faults and delivers visual HTML-based reports to any platform, anywhere, to help factory engineers distinguish between critical and non-critical errors.”
Intel explained that this has dramatically reduced the time needed to analyse and focus on key areas of manufacturing equipment from four hours to just 30 seconds.
3. Costco
Just like Amazon, Costco also tracks your buying habits, but they have used this kind of information to benefit their customers in a slightly different way...
They were warned of a possible bacteria contamination in their stoned fruits and rather than send out blanket communications to all that had shopped there, they were able to individually contact everyone by phone who had purchased those specific items within the affected time frame, they then also followed this up with a personalised letter.
Not only did this prevent their customers from potentially becoming very poorly, but it also helped to improve their customer loyalty and avoid any possible bad press.
What next?
Would you like to discover how data analytics can help you to unlock your business insights and discover how to successfully optimise your processes, catch any 'suspicious' trends and leverage artificial intelligence?
If you would like to discuss the power of data analytics with me in more detail, please connect with me on LinkedIn or contact us below.
