Big data has been highly important to modern organizations. Companies have started using data analytics to better reach their customers and improve their conversions. Online companies in particular have become highly dependent on big data to grow their customer bases.
Before data analytics was widely used, nearly every decision a business manager would make was essentially the result of guesswork. People couldn’t really see into the future and appropriately predict the outcomes of any particular course of action, so they largely took educated guesses and saw what stuck. Today, it’s possible to review data gleaned from various sources to figure out what people want with a relatively high degree of certainty.
Lately, it seems like there’s been a major pushback against the collection of customer data. Some are pointing to the complex sociopolitical issues connected with data collection while others are just concerned about their personal privacy.
While these are valid points, many organizations are also using data analytics to dramatically improve their customer’s experience without them even realizing what forces are at play. It is hard to argue that big data cannot be useful for customers when companies are using it to improve the customer experience.
Correcting Inefficiencies & Serving Customers Better
Rather than focus on situations where customers haven’t consented to data collection, some commentators have looked at those where data analytics packages are used to process information that was necessarily offered as part of a transaction. One big issue that these computer scientists have noticed is that consumers want more flexibility when ordering products or booking appointments, beyond what they’re currently offered. In many industries, it’s still common for customers to have to wait for human assistance to make a booking.
Say, for instance, that someone needed to make an appointment with a medical or legal professional. While some market segments have automated this process, the same cannot be completely said of this sector. Customers may have to call into a secretary, but data analytics have shown that there are serious problems with this. Private practice managers can simply upload a booking form in WordPress or whatever other platform they prefer and start to automate the process to at least some degree.
Global analytic data has illustrated that this is a preferred solution among many consumers, but individual practices will want to look at when their clients book appointments and how frequently to better dial in their automation system. In general, the biggest issue that people have with traditional booking methods is the fact that the individual they’re working with isn’t always aware of everything regarding the schedule of the individual that they represent. By seeing things from an at-a-glance point of view, these problems are assuaged.
Representatives might not have realized this fact if it weren’t for business intelligence datasets that pointed it out. Likewise, some specialists are advocating major changes for shopping cart apps based on customer data and analytics based largely around their own feedback.
Analyzing both sources of information in the aggregate has proved extremely effective for smaller businesses, which usually don’t have the large supplies of information that the eCommerce juggernauts do.
Scientifically Studying Customer Feedback
Some authorities believe that the rate of shopping cart abandonment could be upwards of 80 percent in some industries, which might be due to speed more than anything else. Data analytics software has examined both the habits of online shoppers as well as their own personal feedback. In both instances, what they’ve found has led experts to say that performance as well as account creation are the biggest issues that cause individual consumers to abandon their carts.
Weekend shoppers abandon their carts 90 percent of the time, which would seem to indicate that people are either not serious shoppers when they have a little time off or that periods of high demand can prove to be challenging for users. Data scientists have taken this second option to heart by advocating for increased server infrastructure in order to provide for better service during times of peak demand.
Landing pages have become increasingly popular, especially with those who use some sort of email newsletter as a way of marketing to people. A number of landing page tools have gone on market to accommodate for better processing of this information. By comparing these statistics to those that are collected from shopping carts themselves, managers have started to catch problems before they blossom into major issues.
Customers might never know why it is that they’re receiving sudden improvements to their overall experience, but they’ll certainly appreciate the ability to place orders without any of the hassle they’ve come to expect from online shopping.
