Making Sense of Big Data: IT Solutions for Small Business Insights
How managed IT services can make small companies the equal of their larger rivals
There’s an old saying that takes many forms, but essentially says, “God made men; Sam Colt made them equal.” Of course, this refers to the Colt .45, the first practical, revolving-cylinder handgun, invented in 1831 and patented in 1836, just in time for the Texas Revolution. This was a rugged time in our nation’s history when the frontier beckoned. An individual’s physical strength was a decided advantage, and such prowess was often a license to abuse. The odds were stacked against men of smaller stature, as well as women. Thus, while Col. Colt dubbed his invention The Peacemaker, others called it The Equalizer, because it could make a small person with a quick, steady hand the equal of a bully twice their size.
Similarly, in business today, the odds are stacked against smaller companies looking to make inroads against larger competitors. The big boys have greater resources which enable them to market and advertise products and services, perform product research, and comply with ever-increasing regulations that severely burden small companies. Importantly, big business has the tools to process Big Data, gleaning increasingly important insights on market trends and consumer behavior to guide corporate decision-making. In this new digital frontier, small businesses need an equalizer. In this article, we’ll discuss IT tools that small companies can employ to level the playing field.
What is big data and how can small businesses harness it to their advantage?
Big data refers to the sum total of information companies collect in the course of doing business. The volume can be immense, but hidden within are important insights pertinent to the company’s operations. The trick is to analyze the huge troves of data to get at those insights. Manual processing is simply too slow, inefficient, and costly. But by employing digital marketing analytics platforms, a company can distill valuable data points in practically no time.
When a business successfully mines its consumer data, the benefits are enormous:
- Increased revenue — Marketing analytics empower companies to identify and seize new opportunities. For example, websites can be automated to suggest items that previous customers frequently purchased along with the item in the customer’s cart.
- Reduced costs — When you can pinpoint where potential sales lie, you can focus on efforts that have a higher likelihood of convergence and reduce your investment in products that aren’t moving.
- Knowledge of the target audience — Aside from purchasing your products, what are your customers into? You can learn more about their lifestyles, tastes, interests, and habits to hone future marketing efforts.
- Identifying stress points — If a website is underperforming, data analytics can tell you why. Issues such as limited traffic, high traffic but few conversions, lack of repeat sales, and high return rates have causes you can identify and correct.
Big data also helps business leaders make informed decisions about business development. Using various IT tools, you can anticipate buying trends, conduct in-depth comparisons of your offerings with major competitors, and collect and process customer feedback.
Data analytics can also help you build a better business through improved hiring, closer employee oversight, and more efficient operations. IT tools allow you to advertise positions more accurately and screen prospective employees more thoroughly, so you can avoid bad hires that weaken your company culture. You can monitor worker productivity using key performance indicators, enabling you to reward top achievers and identify deficiencies that might require retraining to boost performance. Additionally, there are IT tools that enable you to track business processes and pinpoint areas for improvement.
Naturally, there are numerous platforms that businesses can use, which range from “user friendly” to “advanced degree required.” Finding the right tools for your company profile and your operating budget requires knowledgeable assistance from an IT pro who cares about your success. At KMF Technologies, we take pride in the personalized service we offer. We tailor solutions to fit your needs, your budget, and your readiness to get the most from a particular platform. We help our clients find the right fit, so they’re set to take on their largest competitors. By partnering with KMF Tech, you can equip your small business with the great equalizer. Call us today.