The speed of data growth shows how, today, marketing professionals have access to real information, in real time, from analytics platforms tracking interactions on the web, mobile sites, and social media. But the question is: how do you handle all of that? What is big data and how does it work? An example of how big data works would be imagining yourself in a card game between you and a few other people. After a few rounds, you will already have understood the game and figured out each participant’s playing style, and gotten a feel for playing with them. One step further, and you will also have understood the logic of the cards (if they are not shuffled), and which possible sequences can be formed. You will have gotten so used to it that you memorize information that can be used for future games.
That situation exemplifies the three main characteristics of what has always been known as big data: data volume, growth speed, and information variety. But what truly brings results is how you use that information. So what does big data represent today for digital marketing?
The danger of the big-data fad is that insatiable desire to gather more and more information — something everyone already has access to — without knowing how to use those data. Capturing data is easy, but how will you integrate the systems you use and use them for the right purposes? Consumer-behavior analyses, machine learning, automation, and so many other emerging technologies have proven to be very efficient tools to collect even more data, automate processes, and make experiences more personalized. And that is the great trigger of an efficient marketing strategy, one-to-one, that speaks directly with the consumer. In the early 2000s, there was no tool that could help compile data and create automatic processes for contact with clients. Even so, I managed to use big data (not yet known by that name) to start what would become known as digital marketing, analytics, automation. All of that by hand, in spreadsheets, with the calculator beside me and my head racing. It is not necessary to acquire every technology linked to this new big-data concept to have success. It is necessary to know which data are relevant for you and apply them toward more real and personalized relationships.
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