Big Data Analytics a Key Enabler for Social CRM – Airlines Case Study

Big Data Analytics is a hot topic of discussion these days. But many feel that it is more of a “hype” and less of substance. In my opinion, Big Data Analytics is the real deal and if used correctly, can deliver great business results at a fraction of cost compared to other alternatives.

Here’s a simple yet very effective example of using analytics for understanding consumer attitudes towards airlines in real time. In this study, Jeffrey Breen has used the R programming language to analyze consumer sentiments about major U.S. airlines expressed on Twitter. For more on the methodology and results, see the following embedded Slideshare presentation (if you cannot see the embedded file, click here to view it on Slideshare website).

As you can see on slide no. 27, the twitter sentiment scores obtained  for many of the airlines are “comparable” to results of The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). What is important to note here is that by analyzing few tweets using freely available R programming language (which is part of the GNU project), it is possible to achieve results similar to that of an elaborate and expensive market research study such as ACSI at a fraction of a cost, that too in real time. Isn’t that a game changer?

Now imagine using Big Data Analytics to analyze Social Media data – not only text data but also pictures, video, GPS , Social Graph/Social Media linkages and using that information for engaging customers on Social Media channels. That in my opinion is the ‘holy grail’ (if I may use that term) of Social CRM.

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In one of my earlier post, I have defined Social CRM as the business strategy of engaging customers through Social Media with goal of building trust and brand loyalty. Big data analytics is a key enabler for engaging customers on social media channels for building trust and loyalty (Social CRM). What do you think?