6 Ways Big Data Is Changing Marketing

Every day businesses are inundated by data from a huge range of sources and systems, but how can this data be used and what benefits can it bring to businesses? Well, there are plenty of reasons why Big Data is such a buzzword in marketing circles. It has been used to inform and enhance many aspects of marketing for years and its importance and applications are still increasing. In this article, we will unpack some of the key changes Big Data has meant for marketers. Lets begin with automation and machine learning.

Automation and machine learning

Most marketers are aware of how useful automation and machine learning can be for marketing. From chatbots and automated campaigns to data labeling and reporting, they have countless important uses in marketing.

However, these algorithms need to be fed with relevant data to work well and continually improve. This is why Big Data is so important, if you have the data to work with, you can quickly train an algorithm and enhance your marketing efficiently and cost-effectively.

Customer intelligence and targeting

With so much data available, it is now easier than ever for marketers to do their research, segment audiences and create highly targeted campaigns with custom messaging to entice specific customers. Just imagine how much more effective marketing can be if you know exactly what approaches inspire different groups in your target audience to buy?

Although using your data captured from previous campaigns is often preferable, new businesses and smaller companies who don’t have enough of their data can easily get hold of relevant and useful data from various online sources so their campaigns can be more customized and ultimately convert more prospects into customers.

Mobile marketing

As a crucial part of digital marketing, mobile marketing, through apps and mobile-optimized websites, is the perfect example of Big Data being used correctly. Mobile is the largest contributor to Big Data, thanks to the way smartphones have been lovingly accepted and integrated into nearly all aspects of our lives.

So, marketers can get data on everything from consumer behaviour and interests to usage patterns and touchscreen heatmaps. Plus, with so many apps and background services constantly running, a mobile phone can still create insightful data even when not in use.

Predictive marketing

Predicting the effectiveness of marketing has been an important part of any campaign plan since we first started promoting businesses. The most obvious example of this can be seen during the holidays, businesses must use campaign stats from previous holiday periods to inform their decision on whether to launch a campaign, invest more or fewer funds in advertising, or pause their marketing altogether to save money.

Now, with Big Data available to all, marketers can make more informed decisions on the above and a myriad of other decisions they are faced with using predictive data based on recurring patterns. Just keep in mind that not all changes are predictable, as any marketer working throughout the pandemic will tell you.

Smarter pricing decisions

Thanks to the availability of Big Data, marketers can make small but clever choices on pricing that can have a huge impact on bottom-line pricing. One easily digestible example of this is the old $4.99 versus $5.00, this 1 cent price difference has been proven to make all the difference, increasing sales and profits, but without the help of Big Data marketers would have never known for sure if this tactic would work for them.

Keep in mind, this is a simplistic example and Big Data can provide insights into the times of the year, month, week, day or even hour that customers are likely to buy and how much they are likely to spend, so pricing decisions can be more clever and effective than ever.

Recommendations systems

Everyone will be aware of these recommendation systems, whether it’s Spotify curating a playlist based on your listening data and current music trends or Amazon recommending a new eBook from one of your favourite authors based on your reading history.

Thanks to Big Data these recommendations are now more accurate and effective than ever, which is why you will notice the most popular eCommerce sites now have a large portion of their homepage dedicated to your recommendations.

As you can see Big Data is transforming the world of marketing for the better, allowing for greater efficiency, an enhanced user experience for customers, improved campaign accuracy and profit increases. However, that does not mean leveraging Big Data is easy, many marketers can find themselves overloaded with the amount of data and it takes careful planning and expertise to get your data working for you effectively.

Author Bio:

Ian Carroll is the owner of Digital Funnel, a Digital Marketing agency that specializes in SEO in Cork and SEO in Dublin alongside Web Design. Ian and his team have helped numerous local businesses increase their online presence.