We need to think about data being the eyes and ears of our business. Without them, we can’t hear the dialogue or see where we are going.

It is hard to imagine how we could function without them, right?

If you truly want to grow your business, then data needs to become a priority.

There is a saying, “you can’t manage what you can’t measure”, and this is especially true when it comes to eCommerce.

Big-data technology is quickly transforming nearly every industry by providing actionable business information. There are vital reasons to pay attention to big data, even if you’re a small business.

Primary big data sources are:

  1. Social insights: Likes, Comments, Video Uploads, Tweets and Retweets, and other media that is uploaded and shared on the globe’s favorite social media platforms
  2. Transactional record: all the daily transactions that take place both online and offline, such as invoices, payments, orders, storage records, delivery receipts.
  3. Machine learning: information is generated by equipment, sensors and web logs which track user behavior, including medical devices, smart meters, road cameras, satellites, games.

Where can I access my ‘big data’?

Without even realizing it, it is likely that you already have more than enough information to start a big-data initiative. Here are some examples of where small business owners can source information for data analysis:

  • Website analytics (such as Google Analytics)
  • Sales and purchase history (from your eCommerce store)
  • Email marketing reports (from your email marketing platform)
  • Social media analytics (Facebook or Instagram Insights)
  • Advertising accounts (Google Ads, Facebook Ads)
  • Publicly available insights (Google Trends)

You can read more on the basics of data and analytics in these posts.