Big Data Isn't Scary Data
I think lots of folks get scared of Big Data as soon as they hear the word Big. Big Data shouldn’t be thought of as something only big companies do or something that marketing firms own. Big Data is available to you. In fact it already exists if you keep any sort of records about what you do or who you market to. It exists if you don’t keep records but have done a mailing.
The reason is Big Data is really just data. Small d. We live in an age where everything is tracked so all that Big Data is really doing is putting that tracking to work for you in new ways. Below is an excerpt from an article about Big Data that I found to be helpful.
…when it comes to developing insight, I would say that the size of the data is fairly irrelevant. In fact, Big Data and Small Data can work together, one complementing the other, to generate the best results. Ultimately, success via insight depends not on the size of the data set, but on the effectiveness of the analytics used to generate results. In other words, it’s less about the size of the data and more about what one does with it that counts.
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Finally, another key factor to mention is relevance. Is the data that’s being collected relevant to the organization collecting and using it? Any data can be captured, but should it be? Would Golfsmith benefit from knowing which customers use a Mac versus a PC? Probably not. But could Microsoft leverage that data point to optimize its marketing campaigns? Probably so.
For direct marketers—regardless of the size of their data—the key components to managing data and developing actionable insight are to develop a data-centric approach to marketing; create an appropriate data management infrastructure; collect relevant data; and, use effective analysis tools to help create well-defined marketing campaigns that improve results and drive their businesses forward.
(via DM News)