People are constantly talking about Big Data, but businesses are still learning what to make of all of the information they acquire through various channels. Monthly and yearly revenue reports used to be a great indicator of success, but now companies have the opportunity to measure such from tweets, click-throughs on websites and more.
At the surface, Big Data appears to be for tech-savvy professionals, but what these employers can find can be valuable to an organization and advertising agencies. In 2013, 64 percent of companies invested in Big Data programs to understand consumer habits, but 44 percent of businesses said they are still in the early stages, according to the Wall Street Journal.
What makes Big Data different from programs that are already on the market to measure projected sales is that this information can be found in many places. An article on the Harvard Business Review explained that the diversity of finding this consumer-specific data can drive loyal customers back to the storefront or website–depending on where there is more traffic. Cookies for example, allow retailers to see a person's behavior and can use that knowledge to purchase advertising space on specific websites.
Because this information is so readily available, businesses are in the position to decide how to use this data to their advantage. As the Journal's contributor puts it, there's "greater potential for mistaking noise for true insight, and a greater risk of spending lots of money and time chasing poorly defined problems or opportunities."
Companies that do not know how to organize this knowledge may find themselves not increasing work efficiency, but actually losing out on their initial investment. Before getting too warped into Big Data, business owners have to fully understand the industry.
Tab Service Company is a Chicago based company with over 53 years of experience as a data processing service provider. We provide business with outsourcing solutions for document scanning services, data entry services and mailing/lettershop services. As a SOC2-approved organization, we apply industry-best practices to our approach with clients.