Big data for small businesses
Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2025 6:40 am
They say that in Walmart supermarkets, back in the nineties, they discovered, through data analysis, that on Friday afternoons there was a curious pattern of purchases: men between 25 and 35 years old who bought diapers also bought beer. Strange at first glance, right? It made sense: these men were fathers of babies and their new status made it difficult for them to go out to the bar to drink, so when they had to take diapers home, they took the opportunity to buy a couple of beers to consume at home. What did Walmart do? Place the diapers next to the beer.
Whether it's real or not, this strategy has a lot to do with big data. And yes, Walmart is a giant that made a net profit in 2021 of more than 12 billion euros, but today big data is a very powerful tool for small businesses too. Let's see how.
What exactly is big data?
First of all, we need to know what big data is. Essentially, it is a huge and very complex volume of data that is practically impossible to analyse without certain computer tools; in other words, big data cannot be interpreted with traditional applications. When we talk about big data , we are actually referring to the analysis of india number data data from which we can extract information that is beneficial for our business. Patterns are analysed, data that are apparently unrelated are cross-referenced and information is extracted from them that can be extremely useful for improving the workflows and performance of the company.
Of course, we said before that big data analysis is very complex. And it is, because this data is subject to what is known as the “three Vs”: volume, variety and speed. Or in other words: there is a lot of it, it is constantly generated and it has various origins (we can obtain data from our sales, but also from interactions on social networks, emails, dates, geolocation and a long etcetera), although two more are usually added: veracity and value (that is, that this data is useful and analysable). And this brings us to the next point: structured and unstructured data.
Big data for small businesses
Differences between structured data and unstructured data
We will try to explain it in the simplest way possible. Structured data can be organized in graphs and extracted with certain analytical tools such as the one offered by Holded through its CRM (we will now see what it is and what it consists of). It can be classified and analyzed and yield very interesting results aimed at improving our services (and our profits).
Unstructured data (about 90% of data generated on the Internet) is not defined by data models and is therefore very difficult to analyse. These include searches we do on Google, for example, as well as comments on social networks, files that are exchanged or downloaded (whatever type they are), etc. But let's focus on the data that can be analysed, the structured data. Now let's see what a CRM is.
What is CRM (and why it is important for a small business to have this software)
CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management . This software covers everything related to customer relations, from marketing strategies to sales management, customer service for our products or services and, of course, after-sales service.
What we achieve with this software is that interactions with our clients are optimized and all work processes are improved. If our service improves, we will achieve that our clients become prescribers of our business; in other words, that they value it positively and recommend it. And the consequence of this is that we will obtain more benefits not only financially, but also in terms of image.
Whether it's real or not, this strategy has a lot to do with big data. And yes, Walmart is a giant that made a net profit in 2021 of more than 12 billion euros, but today big data is a very powerful tool for small businesses too. Let's see how.
What exactly is big data?
First of all, we need to know what big data is. Essentially, it is a huge and very complex volume of data that is practically impossible to analyse without certain computer tools; in other words, big data cannot be interpreted with traditional applications. When we talk about big data , we are actually referring to the analysis of india number data data from which we can extract information that is beneficial for our business. Patterns are analysed, data that are apparently unrelated are cross-referenced and information is extracted from them that can be extremely useful for improving the workflows and performance of the company.
Of course, we said before that big data analysis is very complex. And it is, because this data is subject to what is known as the “three Vs”: volume, variety and speed. Or in other words: there is a lot of it, it is constantly generated and it has various origins (we can obtain data from our sales, but also from interactions on social networks, emails, dates, geolocation and a long etcetera), although two more are usually added: veracity and value (that is, that this data is useful and analysable). And this brings us to the next point: structured and unstructured data.
Big data for small businesses
Differences between structured data and unstructured data
We will try to explain it in the simplest way possible. Structured data can be organized in graphs and extracted with certain analytical tools such as the one offered by Holded through its CRM (we will now see what it is and what it consists of). It can be classified and analyzed and yield very interesting results aimed at improving our services (and our profits).
Unstructured data (about 90% of data generated on the Internet) is not defined by data models and is therefore very difficult to analyse. These include searches we do on Google, for example, as well as comments on social networks, files that are exchanged or downloaded (whatever type they are), etc. But let's focus on the data that can be analysed, the structured data. Now let's see what a CRM is.
What is CRM (and why it is important for a small business to have this software)
CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management . This software covers everything related to customer relations, from marketing strategies to sales management, customer service for our products or services and, of course, after-sales service.
What we achieve with this software is that interactions with our clients are optimized and all work processes are improved. If our service improves, we will achieve that our clients become prescribers of our business; in other words, that they value it positively and recommend it. And the consequence of this is that we will obtain more benefits not only financially, but also in terms of image.