Big data is flooding business news. While this ground-breaking wave of technology gives businesses the opportunity to possess nearly prophetic knowledge and intuition about their consumers, it can be difficult to process the torrents of information—both information on how the technology can be applied, and also literally processing the billions of pieces of data that companies may receive.
To cut through the noise, every company needs to approach data collection with clearly defined goals. Businesses must decide what SPECIFIC questions they want their data to answer—for example, how to:
- Identify precise demographic groups
- Attract customers
- Match consumers to products
- Increase margins
- Meet business objectives
- Streamline operations
- Improve efficiencies and processes
- Improve products and services
- Identify seasonal highs and lows
- Gauge customer satisfaction (and dissatisfaction)
- Identify and decrease churn rates
- Boost key performance indicators
The Fine Line between Big Business . . . and Big Brother
Big data seeks to offer consumers information that is targeted precisely to them; however, there’s a fine line between customization and “creeping.” Greeting a stranger by their first name, for instance, may be received as a pleasant or unpleasant surprise—making some consumers feel special and others feel uncomfortable. Ideally, a business’s data collection leads to:
- personalization that impresses
- timely offers for products and services
- new products thoughtfully designed
- advanced customer service
- an opportunity to listen to customers directly
Technology that Genuinely Leads
SmartSource Rentals has options for any business that strives to know their consumers better. Whether for conferences, trade shows, corporate events, fundraising, product launches, training sessions, or road trips, the following suggestions can provide a technology portal that connects you to your target audience.
Lead Retrieval – lead retrieval systems are one of the easiest and most efficient methods for gaining insight into the behavior of your ideal consumer! Businesses, event organizers, sponsors, and exhibitors can gain use any combination of desktop terminals, software applications, barcoded badges, or hand-held units and scanners to gain minute-by-minute knowledge of attendee tracking that can boost ROI, increase attendee satisfaction, improve product offerings, and help convert leads into sales.
Digital Document Libraries – a digital document library offers all of a business’s print collateral in digital form, ready for immediate downloading, emailing, or even printing! This electronic library saves money on printing and shipping, while reducing waste; however, this technology also provides extensive real-time analytics by hour, event, attendee, session, kiosk, or digital asset—offering the best of content management and lead generation, while helping businesses to know what topics their customers find most interesting.
Touchscreen Kiosks – touchscreen kiosks and monitors are an excellent, interactive way to give and receive information from your audience. They are a highly-customizable technology option for:
- Audience response
- Live voting
- Polling solutions
- Capturing lead information
- Offering interactive demonstrations
- Extending surveys
By utilizing interactive technology rentals, events and businesses can be more fully connected with their consumers. Tracking can help event organizers determine the popularity of sessions, booths, exhibits, breakouts, and mixers—gathering information that leads to better events and services, without disrupting the guests’ experience. Most importantly, interactive technology can easily gather direct feedback from consumers—providing an open forum for them to speak candidly about their needs and wants, before, during, and after an event.
“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress . . .”
-Kofi Annan
