Is Big Data Saving Your Business Money?

One of the major watchwords of the last couple of years is “big data.” Experts talk about how much information a company can glean from its customers using the massive amounts of data that is collected. Many say that big data helps companies make more money. For the small business owner or financial manager that is focused on cutting expenses and saving money, he or she wants to know how big data can help with that goal.

Improve Efficiencies and Cut Costs

While many people focus on collecting data to increase sales, it has many back-end uses as well. For example, you can analyze how long it takes to get a product from development to market and see what aspect of the production takes the longest. By studying the processes, you can determine where you can improve efficiency and reduce the costs of production as well as the time it takes to get to market.

Do you really benefit from the maintenance contract you have in place? Find out when you analyze the number of service calls you have had versus the price you are paying for the contract. You may discover that you would be better off paying for each individual service call. Big data is just as important in operations and accounting as it is for marketing and sales.

Improved Customer Service

Big data can help improve customer service, which saves your company money in many ways. As you may know, it takes more effort to win a new customer than to keep a current one. That effort translates into money. Improving customer service allows you to keep your customers happy and resolve issues faster.

Another benefit is that you don’t have the added expense of “making it right.” If you study your data on customer service calls and discover that 70% of those calls are for a mistake made in shipping a product and that replacements are made or refunds given, you can study your processes to see where you can improve.

As the following article shows, this is another way that having more information allows you to make better business decisions and improve your processes and “Stay focused on the big data bottom line.”

Staff Efficiency

Using big data can help improve your employees’ efficiency. You can alter ineffective programs or processes to make them work better. Use information you learn to determine areas where you need to provide additional training or change policies.

For instance, if you discover that the average wait time a customer spends on hold is six minutes, you can work to train your staff to decrease that time. You have concrete information that allows you to create solid goals that everyone can work towards. Instead of saying, “We need to cut down the time our customers spend on hold,” you can be more specific with “Let’s cut customer wait time from six minutes to four minutes.”

It stands to reason that the more information you have about all of the aspects of your business, the better equipped you will be to make changes that are effective and beneficial. Big data can help your small business save money and set you up for success.

Author: Joyce Morse is an author who writes on a variety of topics, including business and technology.