7 REAL-WORLD EXAMPLES OF HOW BUSINESSES ARE USING BIG DATA ANALYTICS
It comes as no surprise that today the world is advancing at a dizzying pace on many levels. The recent developments in technology have changed almost every aspect of life globally. The entire business world has come a long way from offline and face-to-face interactions to modernized and personalized services. Whether small or large, every business needs to stay abreast of technological advancements if they wish to thrive in the highly competitive world.
More and more organizations are adopting various technological advancements to increase their sales, enhance overall performance, and stay ahead of their competitors. One such advancement is big data. As the name suggests, big data refers to a large volume of data, whether structured, semi-structured, or unstructured. Businesses use big data to evaluate trends, patterns and draw an insight that helps in improving efficiency, productivity, and customer satisfaction.
Today businesses are advancing from knowing to learning organizations. This change in trend has changed the business operations in more than one way. Companies have realized that using big data analytics is not just a new trend; instead, it is necessary for every business. Leveraging this new yet effective technology can help companies to make data-driven decisions.
However, with the advancement in technology and big data, the need for an expert to analyze the large and complex data sets is now more than ever. Individuals who have a knack for software and problem-solving can pursue an online analytics degree to help data mining and make data-driven decisions. These professionals can help companies in analyzing insightful data to detect current trends. Let’s take a look at how some of the world’s best businesses are leveraging the power of big data analytics:
- AMAZON
One of the giant eCommerce sites worldwide is Amazon, all thanks to big data technology. The company has embraced big data analytics to collect valuable data sets and improve customer satisfaction. Whenever a customer visits Amazon to purchase a product, the company gathers data. The data may include the type of products that caught the user’s interest or how much time a user spends while looking at a particular product. After collecting these data, the company makes user predictions and displays similar products to the user. Analyzing the shopping patterns of their users using big data can help Amazon to improve customer experience.
It is no secret that Google is the champion when it comes to big data analytics. Does the question arise how Google can crawl millions of websites on the internet and provide the best results for every search query? The answer is that Google utilizes big data tools and techniques to offer its users relevant and authentic search results. Using the large data set, Google can help businesses by showing their advertisements to the right audience. As a result, it can generate plenty of revenue by making businesses visible to their target audience. Google can track their user’s favorites, preferences, inclination, or anything through cookies too. Even by just logging into Google, the company captures all the data, search history, locations, trends. These data are helpful for google as they streamline the search results based on the user activity.
- APPLE
Apple is at the forefront when it boils down to technological advancements. Although Apple came into the game a bit late, the company has caught up with its competitors with strenuous efforts. It is because the company has designed its products in a way that helps them capture insightful data. The designing of their products and tools gives them an advantage over their competitors since they don’t need to develop a separate algorithm. One best real-world example of how Apple uses big data analytics is its application programs. The company can collect valuable data from these apps when users download them on their smartphones or tablets. Even their products, such as Macbooks, iPhones, iPods, can provide them with data that helps the company in improving customer experience.
- NETFLIX
With around 208 million subscribers, Netflix is the most valued media outlet today globally. It streams movies and TV shows that the audience wants to see by harnessing the power of big data analytics. Netflix gathers different data to make sure their customers retain for a more extended period on their website. So what type of data the company collects and analyzes? It tracks the date and time a user watches any content, how many pauses a subscriber takes, the device used by the user, etc. All of this data helps Netflix create a customized profile for each You might even notice that some TV series and movies will be recommended to you based on your recent online activities (like searching for Golden Girls quotes or checking out Suits-inspired clothes). Netflix uses all these relevant data to create a custom profile for each of its subscribers based on their interests. The company even personalizes trailers for each user to boost their personalized marketing tactic.
- STARBUCKS
Starbucks is just a brewing company, so why would they need technology, right? Actually, no. Being the top brewing company internationally, Starbucks uses big data analytics to serve its customers better. The company has created their internal artificial intelligence program, namely ‘deep brew,’ that helps them track the refilling orders. It also helps in determining staffing requirements that have helped improve the scheduling process in Starbucks. There is no denying that personalization is crucial for business success, and Starbucks is just doing that. They collect data through mobile apps to gain insight into customer habits. With the help of this data, Starbucks can customize its marketing campaigns and create new menus.
- SPOTIFY
A well-known digital music company, Spotify, is not behind when it comes to using advanced technology and big data to drive its success. The company has its algorithm that helps them gather their user taste in music. That way, Spotify can direct customers towards the latest songs or artists based on their preferences. The data allows the company to serve a personalized listening experience to its valuable users. For instance, Spotify offers its users with the Discover Weekly feature, and the company owes big data for this feature. The feature is an excellent way for users to listen to songs they might not have heard previously, but it would be something they would enjoy. Moreover, Spotify has launched another exciting and valuable feature for music artists, ‘Spotify for Artist.’ The feature allows artists to track analytics of their content.
- MCDONALD’S
The world’s largest fast-food chain is changing its policy from mass marketing to mass customization with the help of big data analytics. With 39,198 restaurants of McDonald’s worldwide, data collection and handling is not an easy task. The organization presently has become more information-centric to make data-driven decisions. McDonald’s gathers vital information about its users that can help in promotional services. The company keeps tabs on the number of customers waiting in the line, orders, or services users take, whether the users opt for drive-thru or dine-in. Through this big data analytics, the company can determine user persona and personalize their offers accordingly.
CONCLUSION
Big data analytics isn’t just a trend or buzzword for business. Companies that wish to understand customer behavior and take their business to the next level must jump the bandwagon and implement the new data strategy. No wonder the world’s top companies bring light to the value of big data analytics in the present age. They collect insightful data to determine their customer’s preferences and formulate a data-driven decision. Integrating big data analytics can help businesses maximize their ROI and reach the maximum level of success.
