Data, particularly big data is a big thing in business circles.

It will help your business make smarter decisions based off solid evidence.

What data is relevant to your business

Choosing a source and type of data to use can be overwhelming for many business owners.

The first thing is to work out what insights your business needs and asking the right questions.

Do you want to improve your customer service or get feedback on a new product?

Do you have a clear understanding of how your customer interacts on your website?

The next step is to decide how you want to collect this data.

Where will you source your data from?

You may not think your small business generates much data but you would be surprised!

Have a think about your business activities, common places to source your data are in-store sales figures, your social media platforms, newsletter subscriptions and traffic to your website.

These figures will give you a benchmark and put you in a position to do something with the results.

This is when we bring in the analytics software and tools to assist you with interpreting your customers’ decisions and movements.

Big data tools

If your customers are interacting with your product or service via your website you want to understand their movements.

Google Analytics is a free tool that will give you data on a range of things from website performance to user behaviors.

CRM tools are a great way to track, generate and manage your incoming leads effectively.

Majority of social media platforms have inbuilt data analytics capabilities so you can easily track how your social media activities are performing.

You will also need a safe place to store this data.

Dedicated cloud and hosting services will not only store it securely, but they can also analyze multiple data sources simultaneously. Usually, this is done via a customisable dashboard using simple graphs and charts. This could help you determine the pricing of your inventory, identify new customers and even pinpoint what content your audience takes notice of. The insights you get from big data can help you make smarter decisions that will ultimately grow your small business.