Big Data: Is History Repeating Itself?
Is it a leap forward helping the world to run smoothly on exabytes of unstructured, unprecedented levels of data? Or is Big Data a new buzz-word used by sales and marketing teams to persuade companies to buy multimillion pound IT platforms?
If you ask me, history is repeating itself. I remember the birth of CRM and how the industry was split between IT companies and their solve-it-all £multimillion databases, and the pointy heads claiming it was their domain. CRM turned out to be data driven marketing using IT as a tool, and eventually became the industry buzz-word of the '90s.
Using Data To Establish Consumer Loyalty
Given that it is of course cheaper for an automotive brand to retain a customer rather than find a new one, the importance of up-to-date customer information is absolutely crucial. Although not an exception, the automotive industry relies heavily on accurate data when it comes to brands trying to secure repeat customers. While it is one thing actually promoting after sales to a customer, it is another to expect them to remember such detail in 12 months time.
The Challenge Of Online Data
Online retail has introduced an order of magnitude change in both the number of decisions to be taken,
and the complexity of data available. Furthermore, there is still no agreement on eCommerce norms and best practice for how to interpret and respond to what the data shows. The challenge can appear daunting and it is easy to either disengage or to drown in the data, but failing to get to grips with the numbers is a huge gamble. At best you miss opportunities to grow pro?ts; at worst you lose control of your online channel.