Own A Small Business? Start Thinking Big Data!

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Small Business is such a poor choice of a name for an entire industry! Just think about it – a thing we’ve used to call “small” is powerful enough to feed your entire family, pay the bills and earn enough cash for a happy retirement.

I don’t know about you but that’s the very definition of “Big” in my book.

However, for your business to really be big and pitch into your account with profits you, as an employee, the owner, founder, chairman and CEO have to think big.

However, before you book your schedule full with wealthy clients I humbly suggest starting with data.

What is Big Data?

For those who’ve lived under the rock for the fair share of the past decade: people have invented an awesome thing called the internet. We could use it as the world’s largest pool of easily accessible knowledge, but choose to share polished selfies and make edgy comments about every imaginable event happening in the world and even beyond.

For better or worse, everyone has an opinion now on everything. Those opinions aren’t as diverse as one might think they are. In fact, the internet has clearly divided people into clusters according to their beliefs and interests.

And, although these very opinions have led to blood-chilling holy wars with fallen veterans of the selfie stick and the keyboard on both sides, they have opened an entire world of opportunities for savvy entrepreneurs.

You see, every opinion shared on the internet leaves a digital trace as modern websites are collecting all kinds of data. The data itself may be used and analyzed later for laser-focused marketing campaigns, influence on beliefs of certain groups and more. In the wrong hands, it is a weapon powerful enough to get Mr. Donald Trump the top spot in the White House.

What is more important, however, is the fact that the locked and loaded gun of data is accessible to anyone and has no weapon control laws. Or, in simpler words, you may use it to the advantage of your own business.

Ok, just to make myself clear – these are the volumes of intel accessible to you right now – 2.5 EXABYTES of data are produced daily. According to Capterra that is a rough equivalent of:

• 530.000.000 million songs
• 250.000 Libraries of Congress
• 90 years of HD video

You, as an entrepreneur have all that wealth at your disposal!

How not to shoot your own leg off?

Data Scientists are extremely optimistic about the growing impact Big Data will have on our community.

“Big Data market will be expanding with an impressive annual growth rate of 23%. US business will be saving up to 60 billion dollars annually.” – IDC experts.

Let them.

We are not data scientists and our goals are more of a “boots on the ground” experience. If savvy entrepreneurs like ourselves are to use any given tool we expect results and we expect them now, not in a potential future predicted by a bunch of guys in a lab.

Luckily, the industry of Big Data has an immediate answer. It is already providing us with a handful of tools and services. All of them claim to make you a millionaire in no time.

Most of the claims, as you’ve already guessed it, are complete and utter marketing bullsh*t!

Worry not, however. This is the reason why I am here with you right now, writing these very words. We are about to dive into an engaging pool of data-driven solutions for businesses that have already proven their worth!  

The best Big Data analysis tools for small businesses

Let’s dive straight into the data-driven goodness, shall we? Please note that that the tools from this list are written in a random order, meaning there is no #1 nor is there the least viable solution. They are all pretty good.

• Google Analytics. This choice is an obvious one and still I believe few of you expected to see this gem in the rough on this list. That’s right, GA is a Big Data tool that can tell you so much more than just the sheer number of people who’ve visited your site. Proper use of the system will allow you to identify your audience, find the best times to post engaging updates and track conversion levels (from website visitors to clients) in order to optimize them perfectly.
• Kissmetricks. Are you familiar with the term ROI? It stands for Return on Investments. Kissmetricks is just the tool to help you get the most of your campaigns with minimal monetary inputs. If that’s not handy for an entrepreneur on a budget, I don’t know what is!
• SimplyBook.Me: We also provide our users with a lot of real-time data analytics that keep your schedules crisp and the booking process seamless for your clients.  You get your own reports every morning with an updated status of all bookings for the day and a list of all active bookings for the upcoming week. On top of that, you can also track your booking website with Google Analytics and your results from your Google Adwords campaigns by using our Google custom features.
• How would you like to predict the future? Canopy Labs may empower you to do just that! The platform uses behavioral data of your users, analyzes them and then predicts their potential choices and moves with ease. I was genuinely freaked out when I saw how accurate the machine is at what it does. Then I learned of ways to use its wits and it was a comfort.

Tell me now, what do you think of Big Data and if you are already using it in your business – how’s it going for you? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.