Big data technology is disrupting almost every industry in the modern economy. Global businesses are projected to spend over $103 billion on big data by 2027. While many industries benefit from the growing use of big data, online businesses are among those most affected.
There are many practical benefits of using big data to grow your online business. You want to educate yourself on the possibilities, so you can make the most of this remarkable new technology.
How Big Data Can Help Your Online Business Maximize Growth Opportunities
Running your own business can be one of the most rewarding career paths anyone can take. However, it doesn’t come without its difficulties. High risk means high reward but there are certain steps you can take that almost guarantee commercial success, particularly when it comes to an online business. Without the outlay costs of rent, utilities, and limited customer base that a physical business has, an online business is a great way to get your company off the ground to reach new heights in a fast, more efficient way.
The good news is that new advances in big data technology can help online entrepreneurs mitigate the challenges their companies will face, while also gaining the most of new opportunities that come their way. We’ve put together some ideas to help you along the way so that you can grow your business with big data. You can check them out below!
1. Build the Perfect Website
Your website will be the foundation for your triumph so making it great from the outset is essential. Hiring a professional is a good option, however, they don’t come cheap so unless you have a solid amount of seed money it’s not always possible. The good news is, you can create your own website online, using tools that can mean you can bring your vision to life. Look for free builders with drag and drop editors that will make the process easier without needing to understand how to code.
Big data has made it easier than ever to create excellent websites. Companies can use big data to better anticipate user needs and improve the user experience, automate updates, setup analytics systems to monitor traffic and test new landing pages more efficiently.
You should focus on the user experience, as well as the aesthetic. Since big data makes the process more efficient, it should be easy to do both. It’s all well and good having a beautiful website but if it’s not easy to use then customers and clients will be turned off and won’t use your services.
2. Establish your Audience
Part of identifying your brand is understanding who your audience is. You need to figure out who your product or service most appeals to and who you had in mind when creating it. Your key demographic will likely have a particular need for what you are offering and so you need to market your business in a way that caters to that particular group. Think TikTok marketing for the Y2K generation, or LinkedIn messaging if your services are business to business. Knowing who your audience is will make it much easier to develop and deepen your brand’s strength in your marketplace. The best way to do this is by generating a buyer persona or a model of your typical customer or client which helps you establish a clear way of promoting your services to the right people.
Data analytics has made it easier to identify the best audience for your online business. Tools like Quantcast use complex data analytics capabilities that to help companies get a better understanding of their target demographics. Advertising platforms like Facebook Ads also have sophisticated audience analytics features that help companies learn more about their target customer.
3. Use Analytics to Identify Points of Differentiation for Your Brand
With Google at our fingertips, it is easy to find yourself lost in such a saturated market. Even if your products or offerings aren’t particularly unique your brand should be. You need to make yourself stand out from the crowd with your content, logo, aesthetic, and message. Do your research and find out how you can make yourself appeal to the wider masses.
You want to take advantage of analytics to learn more about the pain points of your customers. You can use data mining tools to evaluate feedback from customer surveys and other resources that will help you get a better understanding of their expectations. You can also use your own data analytics dashboards to see what customers are telling you. This will help your company build a brand that aligns with their needs.
4. Use Data Analytics to Optimize Your Social Media Strategy
Social media is a powerful tool that will help you get your name out there for free. Set up business accounts on the appropriate channels and make sure you upload regular content. Build your follower count by creating content that is in line with current trends such as popular Instagram Reel audio clips or challenges. Of course, if your business is corporate you don’t want to come across as gimmicky, but never underestimate the power of viral trends that could send your profiles into the stratosphere. If you have products. Send them free of charge to influencers to review in exchange for promotion or ads. LinkedIn is a fantastic way to network with your target audience as you can have a huge reach right from your living room or home office. If you create a physical handmade product, film a short video about your creation process, or shoot a short piece of content about a day in your life as you’re working.
While social media marketing can be very beneficial, it won’t have a good ROI if you aren’t making informed decisions when creating content and optimizing your profiles. You want to use data analytics to monitor engagement on your social media profiles to make the most of your marketing strategy.
5. Use Data Mining to Hone Your Content Creation Skills
While you can pay for Google Ads on a Pay Per Click (PPC) basis, the best way to push your website up the ranks is by creating organic content that includes plenty of keywords that are Search Engine Optimised (SEO) appropriate. add a blog to your website and fill it with multiple blogs between 500 and 1000 words. Choose your topics carefully so that they relate to your business offering and think about the questions people may have about you and what you do. For example, if you run a corporate training company, write a piece of content about the importance of leadership. If you’re not a skilled writer, you can employ freelance writers from places like Upwork and Freelancer for a relatively low price.
If you want to create content yourself, then data mining can help immensely. You will be able to use data mining tools to do more efficient research, which will help create higher quality content. There are other data-driven content marketing ideas worth exploring as well.
6. Create Webinars
If you sell a service rather than a physical product, a free webinar is a fantastic way of reaching out to potential clients and showcasing a snippet of your work. Use video conferencing tools such as Zoom or Teams to speak directly with viewers and run workshops to give them a little taste of what you have to offer. They’ll be so impressed you’ll be leaving them wanting more.
7. Find A Mentor
Every good business leader has got to where they are with some help. Attend networking events that relate to your field and get to know people who are already running successful online businesses. Establish a relationship with them and ask them if they’d consider becoming your mentor. They will be able to guide you through your journey of business growth and help you avoid mistakes that they have already made while building their success.
8. Check Your Metrics
There is no point in creating a fantastic website if you fail to measure its success. Checking your metrics will enable you to see at which point during your potential client or customer’s journey you may have lost the sale. If you use email marketing, you can discover how many clicks you received and compare them to how many sales you made. If you’re not making as much money as you would like, you can use your data to see at which stage in the sales process you may be going wrong and then you will be able to fix it. Depending on the size of your business, automating the sales process through the use of sales tools and lead management software can boost efficiency and sales volume.
Data analytics tools can help you monitor these metrics much more easily. Google Analytics and Crazy Egg are among the best analytics tools. They can help online businesses make the most informed decisions.
Which of these tips will you be trying to help grow your online business into a success? Share in the comments!