How to become your company’s “big data” expert

For some time now, “big data” has been highly visible on the radar of Marketing professionals, but the general consensus is that this awareness has now extended to most boardrooms and to the wider management teams.

There are growing numbers of business events centred around data or featuring keynote speakers with “big data” as a topic. Furthermore, we are seeing more and more articles on the subject in commercial publications and a growing buzz about it in the business world as a whole. However, it is worth remembering that you can still do big things with small data sets, so no matter what size your current database(s) might be, you can still improve results by using the information more effectively.

If they weren’t before, questions are now being asked within just about any business about the company’s grasp of their data (big or small), what it can tell the business and – importantly – how the MD, CEO and directors/managers can use it to improve their bottom line.

Propose an Insight & Analysis project

If there isn’t already a project underway at your company regarding the build of a SCV (Single Customer View) or an Insight & Analysis project, then consider yourself fortunate – this is your opportunity to get in ahead of the curve and to take the lead.

Take the initiative and propose one of these projects – select the most appropriate, based on the current situation for your business:
• Single Customer View – propose if the business has various data sources that are not effectively combined to provide a holistic view of your data.
• Insight & Analysis – propose if you have consolidated data but do not currently use it to expose insights for better business decisions.

If you are unsure which would be the most appropriate for you and your business then just call us, we’ll be happy to help you identify the best route.

Be the “big data” expert

If you are in a position where your business has not yet got to grips with big data and what it can do for lead generation and revenue, then becoming your company expert is going to be very achievable.

You don’t have to be a specialist in data management and manipulation, you just need to work with a data-marketing partner who is. Together you can identify exactly what your business requirements and pain points are and how to effectively propose the project to your executive team – by highlighting the benefits, the value and the ROI it will provide.

When building a relationship with an effective data partner, they should introduce you to specialist software to enable you to run regular reports and on-demand insights into your data. They will then continue to support you to:
• Manage all data updates
• Monitor and report on KPIs and patterns
• Identify relevant insights and where improvements can be made
• Spot how different segments are performing
• Identify growth opportunities
• Report on campaign effectiveness.

So – without being a big data technical wizard – you are then positioned as your company’s expert because you have the right partner, software and support, meaning that you are the one with the knowledge and insight to add real value to your business.



Identifying the right partner

As your choice of partner will be key to the effectiveness of your goals, the selection will be crucial. You should be looking for an organisation with access to leading data mining and analysis software and with accreditations in managing the software for effective client results. The right partner should also have a specialist Insight & Analysis team – not simply be an organisation which can supply that function as an add-on or sideline to their main business.

Ideally your partner will help you maximise both ”what” data you can collect from various sources and determine if you are missing any potential information sources and also “how” you collect the different data in the best format for combining into a SCV and then gaining insight.


- What stage is your company at in exploring Big Data?
- What Insights do you think would be most useful or most welcomed by your colleagues?
- Are you currently trying to propose a Big Data project? If so we’d be pleased to help you with it

Blog written by Emma Horne Sutton, Marketing Manager
Email Emma: ehornesutton@datahq.co.uk