The concept of big data may be something you’re still trying to get your head around, but it’s actually nothing new.
For years, marketers have been familiar with practices of data mining and database marketing. Whether you worked with MS Access or a simple Excel; remember selecting customers for a mail blast based on pre-determined filters?
How great was that? You could target your customers by country, industry; gender, profit turnover the sky was the limit. Well, more like the ceiling actually. Anyone who’s ever worked in what used to be called direct marketing will remember the glory days.
What is Big Data?
Big data is basically a term used to refer to the amount of information generated and stored every second on a global level. And that’s not so much “big” as cosmically vast. But having terabytes of information available is pretty much useless without a viable way to navigate it. According to IBM Big Data & Analytics Hub, big data depends on four Vs:
• Volume
• Variety
• Velocity
• Veracity
Size Doesn’t Matter
No really. It doesn’t. Size doesn’t always matter when it comes to big data because it’s not just about how big it is, but more about what you do with it. If you’re constantly receiving insights into customer behavior, purchasing history and social preferences; but you’re not using them, then any data, big or small is essentially useless. All this information needs to be digitally analyzed by marketers so that they can reveal consumer patterns and predict trends and behavior.
Using big data correctly allows you to gain real insights that lead to better decision making and more effective marketing spend. Which allows for laser-targeted marketing (there’s a term you’re more familiar with), increased conversion and higher sales?
Predictive Marketing
Just as science can predict the weather based on mapped patterns, predictive marketing analyzes past historical customer data so that it can predict future activity. But trying to analyze that kind of data manually is clearly out of the question. The only way to harness the power of big data and make big sales is by using the right predictive marketing software. So if you’re still using an Excel for storing your company information, it’s about time you got more sophisticated. Welcome to 2016.
Account Based Marketing (ABM)
If you’re up-to-date on your B2B marketing terminology, you’ll know about Accounts Based Marketing (ABM). But in case you missed the memo, let me go ahead and explain it anyway. The purpose of ABM is to create harmony between your marketing and sales teams so that you can engage the right customers at the right time. ABM works on the assumption that purchasing decisions are made by a group of people and therefore, allows you to target the collective.
The Takeaway
Predictive marketing software and ABM software empower your sales team by giving them access to a goldmine of critical information. Lifting key customer insights derived from predictive models and dropping them directly into your CRM. Imagine that. Your sales staff can now do their jobs with greater efficiency and speed.
