The meaning of ‘big data’ is as simple as its name. It is nothing,
but a huge bank of information that the entire world is surrounded with
today. Every day, the information network produces trillions of bytes of
data globally. Available in unstructured format, this data comes from
emails, web searches, online transactions, social media feeds, blog
posts, chats, etc. Needless to say, this huge ocean of information is no
less than a gold mine for companies if it is related to their
customers. However, not all of them are actually able to mine this gold
for their benefit.
The companies agree that the customers today are providing a lot more
information about themselves than they ever did before. But, at the
same time, they also accept that their customers are more frustrated
today as the companies are not able to understand them properly. And,
only those, who are actually utilising the big data to know their
customers well and engage with them, are emerging as the winners. So,
let us take a look at a few smart ways some companies are and a lot more
can, use big data for providing a better experience to their customers;
and in turn, fuel their own growth.
1. To understand customers’ needs
Big data allows a company to understand the needs of each and every
customer very well. And, using the data-driven insights, it can offer
further products or services to them. One can simply learn from one of
the industry leaders in the world of e-commerce, Amazon. It focuses on
its customers’ needs using the wealth of information about them. Be it
their reading habits, the frequency with which they replenish their
stock of soap, or anything else, Amazon knows everything about its
customers. And, based on this data, it provides relevant recommendations
of products that its customers might be interested in. Using the same
approach, companies can use big data for cross- and up-selling.
2. To empower customer service team
Leveraging big data to provide a better experience to the customers
when they are looking out for the company’s support is yet another
effective way to win them over. Organisations must provide their
customer service staff with all the information related to the previous
interactions of the consumer. Complete and right information about the
customer will enable the support staff to solve their problems quickly
and efficiently. This will not only help the company to streamline its
process, but will also help to ensure an enhanced customer loyalty. One
of the industries using this approach quite efficiently is the telecom
sector. When the user of a particular telecom service calls up the
customer care centre to get an issue resolved, the agent is provided
with the complete history of all the interactions that this customer has
had with them in the past. This information makes the customer service
agent aware of the problem points previously faced by the customer, and
he is able to provide them with an apt solution in no time.
3. To understand what customers liked
Big data not only helps organisations to improve their customer
service interactions, but it also provides them with the complete
picture of consumer’s experience at any point of time. Such information
gives them an understanding of what worked for them and what did not.
This way, companies can make sure that they provide their users with
only those services, products or solutions, which fulfil their needs.
Using the same approach, the leading provider of online streaming media,
Netflix, has now been acquiring and distributing original content as
well. As the company used big data to understand what its users like to
watch, it was able to acquire a number of Netflix-exclusive programs,
like House of Cards and Orange is the new Black, among others.
4. To unlock its own untapped potential
In today’s highly dynamic market environment, innovation is the key
to success for any organisation. However, a lot of surveys show that
most of the new offerings by the companies fail to provide the desired
returns. All this happens because most of them do not integrate the big
data with the product development and innovation process. By putting the
data to good use, companies can understand the things that are
bothering the users of a particular product or service. And, based on
this understanding, they can come up with a solution. One of the best
examples can be of the automobile industry. Ford Motors has a lab in
Silicon Valley, which collects and processes information from more than
four million cars having inbuilt sensors and remote application
management software. By analysing this data correctly, it is improving
its cars in terms of safety, fuel consumption, emissions and quality.
And, Ford is not alone! There are many other companies that are using
big data to help its customers get a better experience.
Undoubtedly, each and every organisation, irrespective of the
industry it belongs to, can serve its customers in a much better way
with the help of big data. But, at the same time, companies need to
understand that the big data alone is not the solution. It is a way for
them to reach a solution that will help them serve their customers and
grow in their industry.
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