Question

Big Data comes from a wide range of sources. The most valuable sources for marketers are those that capture data on both potential and current customers to yield actionable insights

Knowledge of the different types of data available within Big Data sources can enable marketing managers to identify means of answering questions of both strategic and tactical importance. The ability to gather insights from Big Data begins with knowing what are some of the right data sources for use in answering the question at hand.

The goal of this exercise is to demonstrate your understanding of the key types of Big Data sources available to marketing managers and their potential to aid in the development of actionable insights.

There are six key sources of Big Data for marketers. These include: business systems, social media platforms, internet-connected devices, mobile apps, commercial entities, and governmental entities.

Pick one source listed above, identify an organization you believe uses data from that source AND briefly describe how that organization might use that data to answer a specific marketing question or make a marketing-related decision.

Answer 1

If we take a closer look at Amazon's Big Data drive, one of the biggest ways that Amazon utilises data is through its recommendation engine. When a customer searches for a particular item, that enables Amazon to better predict what else that customer might be interested in. This enables Amazon to streamline the process of persuading a customer to purchase it. Amazon's personalised recommendation system is thought to account for nearly 35% of the company’s annual sales.

Amazon also gathers individual data on each and every one of its customers while they are using the website. In addition to what a customer buys, Amazon observes the items he has looked at, shipping address and whether a customer leaves any reviews. Big Data has helped to propel Amazon to the top of the e-commerce pile.

This big amount of data is used to build up a “360-degree view” of an individual customer. Amazon can then locate people who fit into the same precise customer niche e.g. employed males between 18 and 35, living in a rented house with an income of over $30,000 who enjoy foreign cinema, andmake recommendations based on what those other customers like.