Big Data is important for any business hoping to win points with their customers. Using data around consumer behaviours and demographics helps businesses not only improve their services but also provide tailored support and offers to their customers. Below, we have outlined five businesses who have successfully used data to push their business ahead.
Tesco
Tesco, like many other retailers, offer a loyalty card scheme where users collect ‘points’ for an otherwise standard grocery shop. These loyalty card schemes in turn collect data around customers’ shopping habits with regards to what products they buy, how often they shop and how much they spend on average. This helps to paint a picture of audience behaviours and what products they are, or may be, interested in. From this, businesses can better target their advertisements and promotions for particular products.
In the first five years of their loyalty card scheme, Tesco’s sales increased by a whopping 50%, showing that they were doing something right. They have also begun using the data collected from their customers to encourage people to eat more healthily through recipe ideas and a healthier alternative to their current shopping list. Tesco’s success with data is therefore undeniable, as not only have they improved their business turnover but have begun working towards improving the eating habits of their shoppers.
ASOS
ASOS has incorporated developing technology throughout its development as a fashion retailer and is no stranger to using personal data to map consumer trends. It has also begun using consumer data to improve partnerships with third-parties and lead more potential customers back to their site.
ASOS uses both data and artificial intelligence (AI) services to maximise customer satisfaction by using search and shopping data from their site to make personalised recommendations for products that their customers may like. They have also introduced a ‘Fit Assistant’ service, which asks customers a range of questions around their height, weight and sizing and style preferences. It also incorporates data from the purchase and return habits of similar customers in order to determine what size would be the best fit for the customer in question. Through this use of data, they aim to maximise customer satisfaction and reduce returns. ASOS has therefore successfully used data to improve their standing in the fashion world and continues to be a pioneer in the digital age of data.
Capital One
Capital One provides credit card services and supports people in maintaining a positive relationship with their credit. It also uses a range of behavioural data in order to maximise customer experience and provide offers tailored to their customers.
Capital One aims to provide a positive customer experience by analysing their spending patterns and demographics to determine what offers customers would like to see, along with the best time and location for them to see these. They also use data to explore new opportunities for the company and its customers, such as online banking, to ensure that customers have the best experience possible. It is therefore no surprise that Capital One has a spot on this list, as their use of data has not only exceeded in improving customer experience but has also increased revenue for the company.
Amazon
Amazon is probably one of the biggest online retailers around. It collects plenty of personal data, including names, addresses, payments and even recent searches. Because of this data, Amazon can then target customers with tailored advertisements and offers across third-party websites (which we’ve probably all seen), in order to increase traffic to their site and give customers the best experience possible.
In addition to improving its targeted marketing and advertisements, Amazon also uses data to improve customer relationships. By having all the relevant data to hand, Amazon can resolve a customer query as quickly as possible, without having the consumer repeat the same information multiple times. These targeted advertisement and positive customer relations shows how data can be used to improve businesses and are just two of the reasons why Amazon continues to be a reliable retail giant.
Starbucks
Most town centres and shopping complexes have a Starbucks – some even have two or three. But how is it that multiple Starbucks stores can survive in a dwindling high street? Data.
Starbucks analyses a range of data in order to determine the best locations to open a store, both in terms of maintaining a high customer base and without having a negative impact on the sales of a nearby store. This includes location data around Starbucks stores and other store openings, street traffic analysis and demographic information. When combined, this data provides the perfect recipe for predicting the most popular locations for shoppers and therefore higher sales for the company.
These businesses have all used data to improve customer experience, which inevitably improves the business itself either through its services or revenue. There are plenty of open data sources available, along with ways businesses can collect data themselves, to better understand their audiences. See this infographic for ways in which businesses can use open data.