You cannot argue that the marketing landscape has changed drastically over the years – gone are the days of throwing different strategies on the wall to see which one would stick. Instead, companies today are equipped with enough information about their customers and tactics thanks to the big data boom of recent years. In fact, according to Bob Evans, senior vice-president of communications for Oracle, large companies that have not put together complete plans for managing big data expect to lose $71.2 million every year. This is just one example of the extreme impact the big data is having on businesses of all sizes across all industries.
Data is everywhere, from phones and personal computers to NASA database. Some of it may be used for business – some of it may not. In fact, almost 80% of information gained by an organization is unstructured and remains unused without the right software. Fortunately, with recent software boom, small businesses can reap the benefits of the excessive amounts of online and offline information.
Even though most big data conversations concern companies with resources to hire experts and research firms, for those who know where to look, there are several ways for SMBs to gather, analyze and make sense of the information they already have. Here you have a few solutions that could help small companies make better business decisions and compete with larger enterprises in the ever-evolving marketplace.
InsightSquared
The tools you are probably already using provide you with a rich source of information. InsightSquared is a sales performance analytics tool, designed to prevent you from wasting your time, mining and analyzing your own data using one spreadsheet after another. It connects to popular business solutions, such as Salesforce, Google Analytics and QuickBooks to automatically gather and extract the information you need.
Qualtrics
If you currently do not have any rich data sources, conducting research may be the right thing for you. Qualtrics software lets you conduct a wide range of surveys and studies to gain better insights to guide your decision-making. It offers you customer, employee and market insights in real-time. In addition, you have mobile surveys, online samples and academic research.
Panorama
If you want to create dashboards and analyze corporate data without the help of the IT department, here’s a solution for you. When it comes to next-generation smart data discovery, Panorama is a global leader. It is the first business intelligence software that uses Automated Insights and Social Decision Making to allow users to have insights with greater relevancy.
Tranzlogic
Once limited to companies with large resources, credit card transactions are full of unique and vital data. Customer intelligence company Tranzlogic, makes this info available to small and medium establishments, for a reasonable price. It provides the information that merchants can use to launch better marketing campaigns, measure sales performance and write better business plans.
The transition from an instinct-driven company to an analytics-driven company is one SMB owners everywhere must embrace. New solutions are coming to the market every day, and thankfully, more and more of them are being created for the specific needs of smaller organizations. Finding the right IT solutions can help make it practical and inexpensive to benefit from the opportunity big data affords.
