Big Data is so often talked about these days, yet if you work for a company where data is not necessarily at the centre of everything you do, or if there really aren’t vast amounts of data at your disposal, isn’t it time to consider how the principals of ‘Big Data’ could actually translate to your ‘Little Data’?
Contrary to what we might like to believe, marketing is not at the cutting edge of Big Data. The public sector is. Understanding how governments around the world are using big data—such as predictive policing—with LAPD fighting crime by patrolling where it will happen next, can inspire us to look at and use data in different ways.
By using Big Data disciplines, what new insights and ways of thinking can we benefit from in our own businesses?
Big Data starts with little data; we can do so much more with what we’ve already got. As B2B marketers we often inhabit a small specialised world of niche B2B data. Prioritising data quality, use and compliance should be top of all our task lists.
Let’s consider ‘The 4 V’s’ of Big Data and work out how the principals are relevant to you, regardless of how ‘big’ or ‘little’ your data is…
1. Volume: 90% of the world’s data has been generated in the past two years alone. Some organisations today are overwhelmed with volumes of data, which need to be organised, secured and analysed.
Irrespective of the quantity or type of data you have it needs to be properly organised, secured and analysed in order for you to maximise and protect your Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI)—and to adhere to security and compliance laws.
2. Variety: 80% of the world’s data is semi-unstructured; coming from smart devices and social media, generating data through web pages, social-media, forums, e-mails etc.
To capitalise on these great real-time sources of information, you need to find a way of analysing and storing this data in a manageable and accessible way. This kind of storage doesn’t lend itself to traditional technologies that enable only structured storage and retrieval. Sounds like a big job that doesn’t come under your remit? Outsourcing is always an option.
3. Velocity: The constant flow of data and the speed at which it moves is incredible. Identifying a trend or opportunity from your data in minutes can give you competitive advantage. However, data often has a very short shelf-life.
Is your data ‘old hat’ before you even get a chance to look at it/analyse it? If your company has data scientists, are they focused on marketing data, with the ability to define opportunities from the data as and when it arises?
4. Veracity: The truthfulness and quality of the information you have is incredibly important if you are defining new insights, ideas and campaigns from your data.
You need to make the right decisions for the sake of your ROMI, and if your decisions are based on your data, the best thing you can do is to make sure the data is as accurate as it can be.
Understanding what your customers want, feel, how they behave, how to generate greater engagement, better forecasting and increased revenue and profit—marketers often don’t have the time to work out the answers to these types of questions before the next campaign goes out the door. Many don’t realise that the answers may be there in front of them; within the data they are already generating.
You may only have ‘Little Data’ but there are still lessons to be learnt from ‘Big Data’ and you really don’t need to be an expert—as long as you are aware of both the potential and the pitfalls of your data.
Are you facing challenges when gaining buy-in for increased focus on data in your organisation?
Download the Cyance Data Guide for information that will be of use for influencing internally.
Additionally, take part in our short data benchmarking survey and be entered into a prize draw to win a luxury hamper from Fortnum & Mason. Find out how you stack up against your peers when you receive the free report.
