From Big Data to Big Value

"Value is the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something"

Do you make decisions for your organization? Do you leverage equal parts intuition and data to make major decisions? I conducted a major research project as part of my MBA to identify actionable business insights derived from company collected data, barriers to adopting big data as part of your decision making, and how big data can lead to competitive advantage. Value is a big part of this research. As in, what is the value that one can expect?

The types of insights valued by the study participants are becoming increasingly accessible as embedded sensors in consumer products, mobile phones, and physical spaces proliferate (Power, 2015). Beacon/sensor technology connects the physical and digital world and provides firms with unique view of their customers. Proximity awareness platforms allow businesses to track movement of, have two-way dialogue with, and customized experiences for their customers.

This technology can lead to better passenger travel, a customized buying experience, better flows of traffic, and more efficient resource deployment. This web of beacons/sensors, coined the internet of things, will generate massive quantities of new data, leading to insights never before thought possible.

When asked about the type of value companies expect from big data, the answered varied. What is important to one firm, may not be important to another, but it was evident that the common thread among all participants was a more comprehensive understanding of their customer and insight into how they could operate more efficiently.

• 68% of respondents listed a 360-degree view of their customer derived from data as “very important."
• 59% of respondents listed consumption habits of their customer as “very important.”
• Advertising insight was of interest to this survey group as well, with 36% listing it as “very important’ and 41% listing it as “important.”

One respondent stated that “real-time content consumption/sharing data” and “measuring return on investment of marketing and sales initiatives” were incredibly important to them. Another stated that "a better understanding of what drives our customers to the marketing funnel” and “what interactions our prospective customers have with us” as crucial to their success.

• 41% of respondents listed cost savings through operational improvement as “very important” with an additional 41% listing it as important.
• 36% of respondents listed information security as “very important."

In short, respondents want to earn more, spend less, know their customer, and understand the customer path completely. The good news is that more often than not, a data science engagement can help show companies how to earn more and spend less.

___

Jonny Stevens works in a data consultancy and is using his research on advanced analytics and decision making to help his clients implement data science solutions that predict, optimize, and visualize.