Big data plays a key role in digital marketing. As per the recent findings from a survey conducted by 2nd:
- 86% of the businesses surveyed were found to be either using or planning to use big data to support their online marketing efforts. 86% of the businesses surveyed were found to be either using or planning to use big data to support their online marketing efforts Share on X
- Three-quarters of the respondents using big data confirmed that their digital marketing efforts have been extremely effective. Three-quarters of the respondents using big data confirmed that their digital marketing efforts have been extremely effective. Share on X
- 83% of the respondents are planning to take their big data uses to next level that is to expand the use of data to support their marketing campaigns. 83% of the respondents are planning to take their big data uses to next level that is to expand the use of data to support their marketing campaigns. Share on X
The Survey also Highlights the Uses of Big Data in Digital Marketing
- Understanding customer insights (29%)
- Improve supply chain management (18%)
- Power campaigns and promotions (16%)
If you take digital marketing as a vehicle to drive a business to success, the big data is its fuel that runs the vehicle.
In addition to above, future content writing is designed keeping in mind the past reaction of customer’s on the content posted.
a) According to McKinsey research, “Enterprise who uses customer analytics on a large-scale is going to witness 126% profit upgrade over their competitors - McKinsey research”. Enterprise who uses customer analytics on a large-scale is going to witness 126% profit upgrade over their competitors Share on X
b) A study by Research and Markets foresees a huge growth of the market for global cognitive computing. It predicts the market to reach $12.5 billion by 2019. A study by Research and Markets foresees a huge growth of the market for global cognitive computing. It predicts the market to reach $12.5 billion by 2019 Share on X
Benefits of Big Data in Digital Marketing
Researches into the role of big data in digital marketing highlighted cost-saving in the marketing expenses and improvement in product development process. Also, marketers are able to engage their targeted audiences on a large scale due to big data impact. The data shows significant patterns in the behavior of targeted customers. It also helps in engaging customers at the individual level, where communication becomes more targeted.
Big data adds value to internal research and insights gathered from traditional sources like feedbacks and interviews. The data improves understanding of the behavior of targeted audiences. This improved knowledge helps in making customized marketing campaigns to target specific groups of customers.
Example:
All e-commerce sites use a simple online registration form to collect data related to their customers' shopping experience. The data accumulated is used to understand the behavior of individual customers.
Some Studies Predict a Bigger Role for Big Data in Future of Digital Marketing
A report by International Data Corporation (IDC) anticipates revenue from big data and business analytics to increase from $122 billion in 2015 to $187 billion in 2019. The report further states that businesses that are capable of converting big data into actionable information can accrue an additional profit of $430 billion in productivity benefits.
The report makes a point by saying that the investment in big data will give a high return on investment (ROI). But the big data investment would vary from enterprise to enterprise.
Use of big data has opened new avenues for organizations. It basically helps in tracking customers, studying their behavior, monitoring return on investment and analyzing activities of targeted customers and competitors across the globe. Approximately 49% of corporate executives confirm that their firms achieved measurable results with big data, a study conducted by NewVantage Partners Big Data Executive Survey.
Marketers are continuously evolving their strategies with big data help. They’re no longer guessing ads as they have concrete details of taste, expectations and behavior of targeted audiences for making compelling ads.
Planning Digital Marketing with Big Data
The Q1 2014 customer experience survey by Gleanster Research revealed that businesses can take more advantage of customer data for making client acquisition and retention strategies.
Marketers can easily identify the strategies and campaigns that are more likely to be successful using data-driven measurement. Data provides important aspects of planning that help in measuring the success of specific digital marketing campaigns.
Campaigns can be planned according to:
- Targeted markets
- Competition
- Customer preference
….and more. Once the data is explored, marketers can learn what is happening at different stages of the customer lifecycle. For example, if they know how to create a google map with excel data, they will be able to extract new meaning from raw numbers. At this point, they can find grey areas and take precautionary measures to remove those obstacles.
Implementation of Digital Marketing Strategies with Big Data
In marketing, it is timing that is more important than any other factor. The data shows how customers behave to the similar offers at different times. Also, the customers can be grouped for better results through individual targeting. Foresight in the campaign results would help in keeping a tab over marketing budget and get higher ROI.
Analytics of Digital Marketing with Big Data
IDC, a market research firm, puts the availability of data to be 180 zettabytes by 2025. And this is a lot of data. On top of that, the data accumulated is becoming more complicated day-by-day.
Examples of big data analytics:
#Things targeted customers do in morning (sites visited, the content read and videos watched, liked and commented)
#Morning activity of customers (mode of transport used to go to the office and digital ads viewed while commuting to their respective destinations)
#First thing they do at work (checking emails, receiving business calls and attending business meetings)
The examples show the activities of the first half of the day of targeted customers. Analytics give more accurate insights on the behavior of consumers.
The Big Giants of Industry Are Spending a Fortune to Learn "How to Make Sense of Big Data"
Businesses across the globe are busy building data refineries to get as much data as they can. This new found source of business intelligence is helping at every step of the business process. In 2016, Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft spend approximately $32B to learn how to utilize the rich volume of data available to them.
In an effort to maximize its data utilization, Amazon developed a new way. It sends vehicles with shipping containers filled with storage devices holding 100 petabytes of data. The data is for its facilities for evaluation.
Digital Marketing Future with Big Data
Considering the sheer volume of data produced and collected every day, it will be beyond human comprehension to analyze the data. The big data companies have to evolve efficient tools to churn data and convert it into knowledge that can be used in digital marketing.
Those types of marketing tools are still in evolving stage. They are being tested for usability and they will be released for marketers once their functionality is proved beyond doubt.
Jasmeet Singh is an Entrepreneur, Digital Marketing Strategist, and an active blogger. He is the founder of “The Sharp Brain”, a Digital Marketing Training Institute located in India. He is an active Quoran and an avid reader.
