Regardless of industry, businesses gather huge amounts of data. This data comes from traditional means, such as sales, and from modern technology such as comments and location information from social media. The term big data refers to how businesses sort and manage this slew of data and helps businesses improve products, cut costs and gain repeat customers. As big data continues to become an important part of the enterprise, the way businesses run will change. Here are a few ways that is already happening:

Big Data for HR Optimization

Human Resources is a tough job, full of lots of data to analyze. Healthcare, for example, is hard to pinpoint without big data. The Wall Street Journal’s recent article on big data uses Cesars Entertainment Corp. as an example for how much Big Data can help when it comes to dealing with health insurance claim data. By analyzing data collected from a company property, the company was able to decrease the amount of emergency room visits – after noticing an upward trend in ER visits – through a company-wide PSA encouraging people to visit urgent care centers rather than the emergency room.

Hiring is also being changed by Big Data. Traditional recruiting is slow and cumbersome, as well as vulnerable to subjective choices made by hiring managers. Using an online assessment, companies can collect thousands of pieces of information on every applicant. Certain programs can even examine how a person takes the assessment – for example, they can monitor how long someone lingers on a question, etc. This approach allows employers to analyze millions of data points to choose the best person to fill the job.

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Targeted Marketing and Proactive Customer Service

Big Data can more effectively target potential clients within marketing campaigns. According to Business.com’s blog on Big Data, an analysis can be highly accurate – though never 100% perfect – and allow companies to target their marketed based on specific perceived customer wants and needs.  Big Data analysis can help businesses to predict future products customers may want or need.

Along with improving marketing campaigns, Big Data analysis can let businesses know of a customer’s needs before the customer even has to ask. That kind of proactivity will bring a business to a whole new level in terms of customer service. A business with stellar customer service is always going to be more successful than a business where customer service is lacking, and Big Data can help boost that effectiveness easily and efficiently.

Developing New Products and Services With Big Data

Big data can capture customer preferences and gather that information in order to start designing new products and services based around the needs or preferences of customers. Zynga, the company behind the hit game FarmVille, uses information gathered from its games to tailor future customer service practices, quality assurance and new games based on the user’s experiences.

Text-mining algorithms can help companies, such as auto companies, make changes to a product without a costly test group or rolling out a product that fails among a marketing group.

Want to Learn More About Big Data?

Big Data is a complex topic. If you'd like to learn more about it, download our free guide to understanding Big Data here: