Customize big data by adding business-specific signals to the database

As discussed by this blog, big data is a mainstay in business operations. It's become essential for companies to now have the technological means to accumulate and analyze massive amounts of marketing and customer behavior data. But, choosing which variables to measure can be a complicated task, mostly due to the massive amount of data that's available.

According to Harvard Business Review, companies can increase the effectiveness of their analytical methods by adding what the source calls "signals." These data points are essentially more columns in a spreadsheet, but help add texture to the data that's being collected.

For example, a retailer that tracks customer spending habits would probably keep track of the customer's name, if they bought more than one item and what time they purchased the product. But, by adding in another signal – or variable – like whether the customer has a rewards card, businesses can gain a clearer picture on what types of customers are behaving in what way.

This can allow companies to adjust marketing methods and promotions, which, if done correctly, can foster better sales and a more efficient workforce.

But, in order to achieve this, businesses will need the technology to help maintain and analyze these statistics.

By consulting FileMaker developers, companies can create custom database software that can keep track of whichever signals they choose. Since no business is the same, the more customized the data can be, the more likely the company will benefit from its analysis.

As the article's author stated, "opinions are great, data is better," and using custom database software can provide a more effective way to analyze big data and make important decisions.

President Obama uses big data during his re-election campaign

This blog has reported on the rise in big data and how many businesses across industries have used it as a way to improve operations and work more efficiently and effectively. But, a recent Time article has outlined the way President Barack Obama was able to, essentially, base his 2012 re-election campaign on the aggregation, analysis and dissemination of big data and turn it into actionable results.

“We were going to measure every single thing in this campaign,” Jim Messina, President Obama’s campaign manager, told the source.

Immediately after taking the position as campaign manager two years ago, Messina hired an analytics department that was five times larger than the one President Obama used in 2008. Rayid Ghani, who used to analyze big data to optimize supermarket sales promotions, spearheaded the technical department.

The campaigns data analysis was huge. During every day of October, engineers ran the election 66,000 times over night, preparing for every possible outcome. When managers arrived the next morning, the computer spat out the chances of the candidate winning in every state. The data used during these tests was updated constantly.

Furthermore, while campaign workers were able to model exactly which type of person was likely to donate or what public figure they may be most swayed by (Obama held major charity events with George Clooney and Sarah Jessica Parker), secrecy was the utmost priority. So much so that the analytics department worked in a separate room from the rest of the campaign and most tasks were given code names. One senior aide described the data sets as their “nuclear codes.”

It’s clear that one of the advantages to President Obama’s victory on November 6 may have been from the massive amounts of information it was not only able to possess, but also process and articulate to major decision makers. For small businesses, this can be accomplished by consulting FileMaker developers that can create custom database software molded to fit the needs of specific businesses.

New healthcare laws may require hospitals and insurers to buckle down on management and organization

With President Barack Obama re-elected on November 6, the impacts of his landmark healthcare law – Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) – will continue to be felt in hospitals, physicians’ offices and insurance companies.

As such, these healthcare companies will surely be adjusting the inner workings and daily operations of their businesses. This marks a period that has the potential to be rather unorganized and inefficient should the affected businesses not have the capabilities to remain on task and productive during times of great change.

According to technology company hCentive, insurers and healthcare companies may need to take additional technological efforts to maintain order and workloads while making the changes necessary to comply with PPACA laws as these mandates make it increasingly harder for health insurance agencies and hospitals to meet goals for performance and efficiency.

“Insurers need a product that can integrate not only with state exchanges, but also billing, claims and federal hub and exchange,” Manoj Agarwala, president and COO of hCentive, said in a press release.

Using technology in times of change to ensure stability

By consulting FileMaker developers, insurers and healthcare associates will be able to make sure their operations are kept organized and efficient during times of change and innovation.

These professionals can help businesses create custom database software that can be used to manage and access whatever aspects of the company they feel needs the most security. For example, should an insurance agency need additional support maintaining subscriber information and data, the database can be used for that. Likewise, a healthcare facility can use the software to maintain an efficient and well-ran facility, while the inner-workings of the system undergo major changes.

Staying organized during times of innovation

The traditional nine-to-five, cubicle farm workplace of old is quickly being filtered out by the rise in many non-traditional companies and a younger generation beginning to enter the workforce. In response, many companies are implementing alternative work schedules and cultures, which can lead to organizational issues that can be solved by custom office management software.

According to Harvard Business Review, many companies are using alternative methods to increase productivity. For example, technology and engineering giants Google and 3M will grant engineers sabbatical to work on personal projects and develop their skills, known informally as "innovation time off."

Another software company in the United Kingdom called Red Gate started a "coding by the sea" project, where a group of software engineers took out a beach house for a week to fix problems and bugs in their products and advance on new ideas. That idea expanded to "down tools week," where every employee puts their regular routine on hold and commits to a new project or issue about the company that's been bugging them, attempting to solve it within the week.

Other businesses have begun to give employees more loosely defined roles, which allow executives and managers to partner up with other departments and add a variety of skills and experiences to solve problems in more unique and creative ways. According to the source, "truly innovative companies avoid giving people job descriptions, or they find creative ways of encouraging them to join multiple projects."

While many businesses are beginning to use these alternative ways of pairing employees, it's critical that an organization is still able to stay efficient during these innovative times. By consulting FileMaker developers, companies can create custom database software that allows them to manage and organize employees and task lists so supervisors can gain a clear look at the productivity and performance of workers and how well these techniques may be working.

Questions and answers: How big data can shine a light on customer behavior

As this blog has reported, big data is becoming a critical element to maintaining an effective business. This is because the information that is being used by companies can be beneficial to every department, should they have the means to store and analyze this information.

According to CIO, an IT blog, companies can use big data to answer key questions that will provide insight into their clients. These questions ask customers about their motivations, the appeal of certain products and the factors that would lead them to prefer one brand over another.

The companies that can use big data to thoroughly answer these questions will be able to set themselves apart from the competition, according to Walt Hauck, the chief information officer of Dun and Bradstreet, a consultant and research firm.

“I think big data is the beginning of the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots,'” Hauck told the source. “You’re either going to be able to take your data, manipulate it and understand it at scale, or you’re going to follow those that do.”

The benefits of managing big data

By consulting FileMaker developers, companies can create custom database software that allows them to store, manage and analyze the specific sets of data that affect their business, product and customers.

Using this technology can help businesses implement more effective strategies into their sales forces that will create a higher percentage of conversions. Companies can also use this information to aid customer service representatives or account managers in their effort to gain greater insight into client issues and concerns and address those more thoroughly.

How politicians and businesses can use big data to win over undecided individuals

As citizens gear up for Election Day on November 6, political campaigns are doing what they can to reach potential undecided voters at the last minute. According to On The Media, a New York City-based radio show, this often includes sifting through mounds of data about undecided voters that campaign managers obtained through businesses and other organizations.

“They’re running algorithms that are basically looking for patterns between that big mass of data they have about each of you with the information that their polling tells them about specific attitudes about the election that’s underway,” Sasha Issenberg, a political journalist, said during the show.

PJ Vogt, a producer for the On The Media, mentioned that when Republican candidate Mitt Romney was campaigning for governor of Massachusetts, his team used big data to learn that undecided voters were also most likely to be premium cable subscribers. This information gave campaign managers a way to pivot marketing tactics and appeal to this single audience.

Using custom software to maintain customer data

While running for a public office may be much more intense than advertising a new product or service, it’s essentially the same. By using big data to cultivate information about loyal customers, but those that are on the bubble but likely to be persuaded, companies can find a common denominator that will allow them to form a foundation for their marketing or advertising campaigns.

But in order to do this effectively, companies will need the technology to house and manage all this data. By consulting FileMaker developers to create custom database software, marketing departments will be able to more effectively aggregate and analyze this information to find the strongest connections between potential customers.

Companies can use big data to leverage customer relations

As reported by this blog, data analysis has become an increasingly necessary part of running a successful business. According to Harvard Business Review, this concept fits right in with customer service and relations, allowing representatives to engage and satisfy customers much more effectively.

The source states that there are a few tactics companies should adhere to in order to get the most out of customer data. For example, businesses should be systematic in their approach. Analyzing large amounts of data isn't something that can be done on the fly, it requires a careful and comprehensive system and process to go through before any decisions can be made.

Furthermore, it's critical that companies focus on the most vital data. While using as much as possible can help, it can often leave departments overwhelmed and inundated with numbers and graphs. By keeping it simple and focusing on the critical statistics, companies will leverage their data analysis much more effectively.

"Research shows that personalization can deliver five to eight times the ROI on marketing spend and lift sales 10 percent or more," writes Josh Leibowitz, Kellungerman and Maher Masri, authors of the article and major executives at McKinsey and Company.

Custom software can aid with customer relation data

Companies looking to increase their efforts in maintaining customer relations data should consult FileMaker developers to create custom software that can be molded to their specifications and needs.

For example, if a business needs to place more effort on discerning between the different groups and demographics that make up their client base, it can be helpful to use database software to create graphs and charts depicting what clients do and don't have in common. Furthermore, with this information, companies can share the graphs and charts with other necessary departments, such as sales or account management, which can then make additional adjustments to support the breakdown in customer demographics.

With the combination of custom database software and big customer-centric big data, businesses will be able to pivot themselves for a more client-oriented experience and deliver better results.

More marketers implementing sophisticated analytics strategies

While traditional forms of marketing – such as taking out advertising space in local newspapers, sponsoring radio shows and running a commercial on a local television station – may still be a major source of brand awareness, internet marketing has taken on a greater role for companies and marketing departments and understand that more consumers are getting their media online.

As such, internet marketing has gained importance, requiring marketing managers to think of ways to gauge the effectiveness of their campaigns. With the rise in big data, these professionals have found the resource they needed to identify which advertisement techniques are doing well and which may need more work.

According to a survey by eXelate, a data processing company, 54 percent of advertising agencies, 15 percent of marketers and 31 percent of advertising platforms state that the way professionals use big data is becoming more elaborate and technologically advanced.

In addition, custom data has been cited as the best performing data for marketing and advertising managers.

"The fact that custom data was cited as the most effective form of data for both branding and direct response campaigns among marketers, advertiser and platform respondents alike proves the leading role data modeling will play as well as head into the new year and continue to unlock the power of 'Big Data' for digital marketers," Mark Zagorski, CEO of eXelate, said in a press release

Leveraging big data with custom software

With the increase in the amount of data being used by marketing and advertising departments, these managers would be wise to invest in custom database software that can help manage and analyze critical statistics.

By consulting FileMaker developers, businesses can create the custom software needed to ensure they have a marketing department that is abreast on the latest trends and tactics in the industry, as well as keeping a pulse on consumer behaviors.

Google updates Analytics: How companies can use the data to their advantage

As reported by this blog, big data has become a staple in American businesses, regardless of industry. This is due in part to the overall usefulness of the data. One of the very first sectors to grab onto this method of analysis was marketing and advertising, and companies in this industry are often aided in their online endeavors by statistics presented by Google Analytics and other analytical software.

But, Google has expanded its own analytical capabilities with Universal Analytics. This allows companies to submit marketing data they have accrued to Google Analytics to develop a more customized and comprehensive view of the ways consumers interact with their businesses.

“Measurement today is evolving from technology that counts site traffic into a broader system that measures your effectiveness in advertising, sales, product  usage, support and retention,” wrote Manav Mishra, group product manager at Google Analytics, in a blog post. “Ultimately, this sort of integrated measurement can help you deliver the best service, products and experience for your customers.”

Managing a marketing department with database software

Of course, businesses can enjoy a more comprehensive view of their own marketing data through the implementation of software. By consulting FileMaker developers, companies can create custom database software that allows them to track the analytics of advertising and social media campaigns. Furthermore, this software can also be used to upload the artwork for banner advertisements, easing communication between employees that may not know how it will look and keeping marketing teams on the same page.

In addition, marketing and analytics database software can be a great way to make tangible goals for a marketing team. By using the system as a way to present and store analytical figures and progress, managers can set goals for click-rates and conversions, while also displaying the progress of these initiatives. This tactic can help motivate employees while also keeping up with the necessary statistics.

Pharma companies look to social media to ramp up customer engagement

As more consumers begin using social media channels such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, companies are being expected to maintain an active presence on these channels as a way to aid customers with questions and provide useful information on products and updates. While many industries have begun adopting this model, the pharmaceutical industry specifically is now starting to implement this tactic, according to a survey by Best Practices, an industry consulting and advisory service.

According to the study, more than 50 percent of pharma companies expect to use more social networking, online video and other digital mediums to increase brand awareness and communicate with customers.

This technology will be used to help businesses increase the timing and effectiveness of communicating with customers about diseases and developments in the industry.

How technology can be used internally by pharmaceutical companies

While pharmacies are expecting to increase their usage of digital marketing and social media to increase customer communication efforts, using custom database software can help increase their daily management and productivity efforts.

By consulting FileMaker developers, pharmaceutical companies can create management software frameworks and databases that allows supervisors to effectively monitor productivity in major research and development projects. Furthermore, software can be used to help delegate tasks, post documents to be shared with the entire workforce and help offices save on supplies by cutting many extraneous paper products that were necessary when employees had to submit reports and findings by hard copy only.

Furthermore, because these databases can help businesses cut office supply costs, pharmaceutical companies that are using social media as a marketing tool can promote themselves as an eco-friendly or green business due to their efforts in limiting paper consumption.