It is unanimously agreed that correct data is the most important thing businesses need today to decide whether to start operations, expand current operations into new markets or offer new products in the same market.

However, a surge of big data signals the dawn of a new era that can unlock the potential of growth that can’t be achieved with traditional data. Simply put, big data is the analysis of large amounts of information to reveal masked patterns, interrelationships, and other insights, which can fetch your desired answers almost immediately.

According to McKinsey, using big data to its full potential can increase operating margins by more than 60% for a retailer. This article will analyze critical reasons big data has been the buzzword in the business world and how it can help you scale your business.

Increase in Productivity:

During the last decade, nothing has boosted operational efficiency and productivity as much as data analytics. In addition to productivity, comprehensive data can also boost employee morale and analytical abilities to become more efficient in decision making and planning.

Integrating data across a range of internal and external sources in companies can reduce search times and help employees spend less time searching for information and more on applying the results.

However, gathering relevant data and using it effectively can be challenging even with its immense importance for companies. A survey conducted by Bloomberg Businessweek found that almost 95% of businesses had difficulty managing unstructured data.

Sensing the need for good business analytics professionals in the market, degrees like an Online Master of Science in Analytics have seen considerable growth, which caters to business analysts’ 14% annual job growth. An MS in Analytics provides you blended exposure to technology and business functions.

Big Data helps in setting realistic goals:

Often businesses make the mistake of setting goals without complete information, which results in companies downsizing or closing up shop altogether. This leads to frustration among staff not knowing their deliverables and organizational direction. But, using big data helps set realistic goals based on facts, not on hunches and guesswork.

With the help of data, you have information on historical trends and activities that enable you to get a clear idea of your goals right from the beginning; what is achievable and what is not possible.

These insights from data analysis give you a clearer picture of your strengths and weaknesses, which can be a crucial starting point.

Enhances Customer Experience:

After your employees, customers are vital in keeping your business up and running. The more your customers are happy and satisfied with your products or services, the more your company grows and remains profitable here candidate’s resumes also play an important role.

The key to retaining customers and keeping them engaged is having in-depth information about their preferences and unique demands to provide them with differentiated offerings.

Big data can significantly help determine your customers’ behavior by observing their needs and preferences and whether your business can meet their demand. For example, some customers want same-day delivery when they place an order, while others don’t mind waiting a few days.

Big data can analyze traffic patterns and average delivery for suppliers in specific regions and whether same-day delivery is possible or not. Moreover, big data is instrumental in providing personalized experiences to customers based on their previous purchase history.

Cut down costs:

Regardless of the company’s size, cutting down costs can be a vital part of a strategy to scale a business. Organizations often look for external sources for funding when short of capital. However, they can save a significant amount of money with the help of data analytics.

One powerful example of how effective data analytics can be in cutting down costs is Mathew Beatty. He saved up to $3.6 billion for Payformance Solutions after joining the company as a Director of Analytics.

These billions otherwise would have gone unnoticed if it weren’t for data analytics, which holds for every industry and business. Big data can help streamline operations, reduce expenses and save capital for scaling up.

Refine Marketing Activities:

According to IBM, wrong decisions and ineffective strategies due to poor quality data cost the US economy $3.1 per year. The generation of big data at such a massive scale also presents opportunities for marketers to use that for marketing purposes to create more effective campaigns.

Big data can make a big difference in designing marketing campaigns such as SEO, SEM or PPC, or SMM.

Helps in Decision Making:

Most company owners use their experience and intuition to make big decisions, which isn’t ideal for startups. Businesses must rely on facts and figures for making important decisions such as inventory management, forecasting, pricing, competitor analysis, and other business factors.

With the help of big data, the decision-making process can be smoother and save precious time for executives from day-to-day tasks for more strategic-level decisions to scale business.

Conclusion:

Whether you are a startup or a legacy business, the use of big data analytics should be your priority if you aim to scale further. Big data analytics will help you become more efficient and remove operational bottlenecks keeping you from scaling up.

The business world is full of case studies like Mathew Beatty, where companies saved millions or even billions from operations which helped them scale the business further.