How To Use ERP Data in Business

ERP Data Is Growing At Phenomenal Rates - How Do We Use It?

By: Aleksandr Solodyankin

www.TekoaERP.com

Such a question seems impossible to answer, given 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are added daily. But who cares? It’s not like there is a way to standardize that information in a way that’s usable. But wait, there is, such software is available and is beginning to be utilized by companies to better their business. Big data gives rise to potential questions such as:

• · What is big data?
• · Why use big data?
• · Who uses big data?

What is Big Data?

Short answer: super-specific information about individuals.

Big data is exactly the opposite of what the name infers. It is not that the data is itself large, but that data is increasingly more specific. A company is no longer limited to general information such as what sites an individual visits. The data being recorded now includes what pages within the site are visited, for how long, what they look at, what they even think about clicking. Even the individual’s profile can now includes whether or not they are a bad customer, not only information of conversion rates and returns.

Why use Big Data?

Short answer: A better targeted audience, retain more customers, increased conversion rates.

It should be clear by now that the previously mentioned benefits give rise to expanded possibilities. Every experienced marketer understands a targeted audience reduces wasted advertisements, thus saving money. Not only can a company better target their audience, they can also predict.

Prediction is critical because there are always certain types of customers that are more likely to abandon the company. Big data analytics allows companies to identify patterns in these customers, calculate which ones are statistically significant, and give a pin point description of what customers are most likely to be unsatisfied and when they will discontinue their purchases.

A targeted audience and prediction is good and dandy, but can big data help us increase conversion rates within the targeted audience? The short answer is yes. The better answer would be to give an example. One company in particular was able to use big data to discover that over 5% of visitors were lost if they hesitated two to three milliseconds in the middle of a step. A simple solution to this problem was to deliver an inspirational message, such as “Low rates are just a few clicks away.” The result was an increased conversion rate by 30 to 40%!

Who uses Big Data?

Short answer: Companies of all sizes.

Such a plethora of information would be extremely difficult to standardize in a usable fashion. For this reason, software that has these capabilities is far too pricey for small businesses. Companies such as IBM sell this software costing from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. Yet a study showed 8 out of 10 airline companies use such a software to have a competitive advantage.

But how can small companies utilize big data? Unbeknownst to many, one does not need this unaffordable software to have a competitive advantage in their marketplace. Smaller companies can look to Google Analytics, Alexa, Facebook Insights, and Quantcast. This software is free or very affordable for small companies. It will give them insight as to what keywords to use in Google, what websites have a certain amount of traffic, what do the customer think of specific products, what do they think about the prices of specific products, and much more.

Mr. Solodyankin is a business analyst at Whitworth University.