Startups leverage Big data To unlock frozen potential

Improving sales lead quality, reducing churn rates, plotting new market segments, etc. are some of the popular uses Big Data is being put to. Sadly, small and medium scale businesses tend to stay out of its use or still seem to have inhibitions to adopt Big Data.

In fact, 73% of startups in Silicon Valley agree that their data volumes have increased drastically in the last 5 years. By 2020, the volume of data store combined in physical and cloud servers will be 50 times of what it is today. Sadly, small and medium scale businesses are yet to tap into this growing trend that is soon to become mainstream.

There are several myths surrounding Big Data which is stopping small businesses drop dead in their tracks to adopt it. Let’s unravel the myths and the truth behind them. Also, why it is imperative for businesses to adopt Big Data.

The five common myths that stop small businesses from leveraging Big Data:

Myth #1: Big Data is complex

Yes. Big Data is definitely complex. And so is every new technology which can revamp a business completely. Being a relatively new technology that is yet to become mainstream with small and medium scale enterprises, Big Data might appear to be complex. However, truth be told, it is not complex as it seems. There are readymade B2B and B2C Big Data solutions designed specially to help SMBs take leverage of its massive data penetration capabilities.

Myth #2: Big Data is expensive and high-investment oriented

A wide majority of the Big Data solutions are hosted on cloud platforms. SaaS based solutions ensure that businesses pay only for resources they actually use. This the question of locking capital for long durations is eliminated. Moreover, being on the cloud gives the inherent benefit of scaling the operations at will.

Myth #3: Requires large amount of resources

In a Big Data environment, the only thing that businesses will need in large quantities will be data. Big Data helps cut down resources that otherwise will be required to carry out routine system tasks and analytical research. It automates the analytical approach significantly and yields cost-savings in terms of millions and billions.

Read: Story of Amex Big Data Transition

Myth #4: Accurate measurement of RoI is not possible

Big Data virtualization ensures that RoI and relative metrics of data analytics are available for introspection at length. Big Data does reveal meaningful information about RoI with pin-point accuracy which can be used for further business decision making. It gives insightful information about sales improvement, increase in customer loyalty, ecommerce conversion rates, decrease in credit risk and so on.

"We know that small business owners in general are time-starved and task-focused, but smaller companies must avoid feeling overwhelmed by big data, even if managers/owners have to administer their own data management endeavors.” says Steve Pogorzelski, ClickFuel CEO.

Let that sink in. Now, here are 5 ways how small businesses can infinitely gain from leveraging Big Data in their operations.

Gives insights into improving businesses processes

Using Big Data analytics, businesses can deeply analyze customer behavior, business processes and metrics for process reengineering. To cite a real-world example, the Beaufort Memorial Hospital in South Carolina is estimated to save approximately $435,000 per annum by cut shorting the patient discharge time. The process improvement enabled the hospital to make medical attendant staffs available for assisting more patients within the same day.

Predict, control and amplify conversion rates

Customer churn rates and declining conversions are nightmares for businesses. Big Analytics can help put a full stop to the nightmare by providing Customer Value Analytics (CVA) across all sales channels. Any small business can predict the average lifetime value of a customer, control factors that affect it and take actions to improve it using Big Data analytics.

Streamline cost involving 

• Big Data can help estimate the time taken for each process, manual intervention required, ideal settings and reasons impacting productivity in labor and production
• Financial performance, expenditure, stock turnover, interest earnings, etc. can be better organized and optimized for maximum profitability using analytics.
• Budget preparation, risk management, fraud and compliance, etc. can be bettered through deployment of analytics.

Find new customers, sell more to existing ones

An average business in this digitally connected world receives customer information from at least 3 to 4 channels. This data needs to be segmented and analyzed for devising customer targeted strategies, which Big Data facilitates amply. From estimating frequent flier points to rewards for credit card spends, every major financial impact causing decision relating to customers can be logically taken using Big Data.

Make the most of social media

At least 61% of the world’s desktop users are estimated to use social logins for social media usage. Big Data can double up as a social listening tool by collecting public information of users who use such logins. Depending on privacy settings and access granted voluntarily by users, businesses can use Big Data to target specific customers with relevant demographics of age, gender, location, preferences, etc. 

Do you have any ideas on how to better leverage Big Data for the good of small businesses? I would love to hear them.