Your company amasses a lot of data about your customers. But what do you do with that data? Big data is the key to your customers, and can improve the way your organization operates It has a huge effect on your marketing strategy. Basically, big data can make you more money.
You also end up collecting other data - old customer logs, customer service log files, call details and website visitor behavior that lies dormant in your files - driving up your storage costs and becoming a liability if your company has a breach. This is known as dark data.
Most of your daily data gathering will be dark data, and it’s not just obsolete- dark data has a lot of untapped potential. What makes this potential as good as big data is that you already have it. A lot of big data is generated by targeted surveys and marketing that come at a steep price, but dark data is already in your system and can be used to make improvements while saving money in the process.
Dark data represents a huge opportunity for companies to take advantage of previously useless information. However, to fully take advantage of the information in your dark data, your company might need better processes, coordination and technology. Take a look at a few examples of how dark data can be used to your advantage.
Study market trends
The best way to grow a business is to know your audience. Dark data can be analyzed to show the latest buying trends and what kind of person is interested in your product. This type of analysis works best through the monitoring of your web traffic and site visitor behaviors. You may discover that your customer base is older or younger than you thought, helping you to tailor marketing to appeal to these age groups, or that particular products are becoming more popular, giving you time to stock up and maybe offer deals to attract even more customers.
Analyze your data to develop long-term predictions
Nobody can predict the future, but analyzing dark data can help you predict market trends based on your product performance. Patterns in buying products or using services can be identified and correlated with times of year and using dark data analysis can help you uncover these and less obvious buyer trends.
Help recognize common queries to improve support
Dark data gathered through customer service logs, social media attention and website traffic can help you to improve your customer service by showing patterns and trends in buyer needs. Concerns or questions about products and services are often found here, and can be added to the FAQs section of your website.
