Big Data can tell us a lot about future customer demand; what people might like based on what’s come before.

It’s a handy method to plan, produce and launch new products or initiatives. That’s because companies already know they will be successful. And no, it doesn’t involve time travel!

How Big Data Drives Informed Product Planning and Launch for Future Customer Demand

Using product data, companies can classify existing products based on their key attributes. They then look at how well those specific product attributes have performed in sales and know which attributes to replicate in new ones or the attributes to amplify when creating a new version of the existing product.

They can also then create an individual shopping experience for different customers.

To test all of this, companies collect data and analytics from focus groups, social media, test markets and early store rollouts. They use their data analytics skills to plan how best to launch the new products for best results.

Sounds good right?

Well, the real trick to do this successfully is making sure you collect the right sort of data. What’s more, is making sure that data can be relied upon to give an accurate picture for your future product plans.

Big Data in Action: Driving Strategic Decision-Making and Product Enhancement for Business Growth

For example, when trying to develop features and strategies to improve an existing product, different teams may use data in varying ways to make compelling arguments for future feature development. The data gets rigorously tested with the findings presented in managerial and stakeholder meetings to decide exactly where the learnings can be applied.

It’s like deciding between recommending similar products to the one bought, as you know the customer is already interested or instead recommending enabling products for example a phone charger if a phone was the original product.

Big Data can improve many business activities, from customer experience to analytics. A lot of big companies are experts at using the method to continuously grow their capabilities and success in multiple business areas.

Let’s take a look at a few.

Netflix's Triumph: Harnessing Big Data for Unmatched User Personalization and Future AI Innovations

Big Data is the key to much of Netflix’s success.

Simply put, they know their users. Their retention rate is 93%, which is much higher than their main competitors. They collect data such as the time their subscribers watch the show, if they binge-watch a series or if it took them some time to finish. Also, whether they pause the show and whether they returned to the show after pausing.

The aim of this, and the reason for their success, is the high level of personalisation for each customer. They plan to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create trailers in the future.

Amazon's Big Data Mastery: Revolutionizing Sales with Personalized Recommendations and Strategic Expansion

If you buy an item, put it in your basket or simply view it, Amazon will retain and use this data to learn about you. They use it to make product recommendations in future.

Like our earlier example, Amazon recommends similar, enabling or characteristic based products because of the data they collect from sales. They have also expanded into streaming services as well where similar methods to Netflix can be used.

This is how they earn 35% of their annual sales.

McDonald's Big Data Success: Navigating Industry Shifts Through Mass Customization and Dynamic Drive-Thru Menus

The fast-food industry is constantly changing.

The rising trends of healthy living and online ordering presented McDonald’s with a challenge. But one they are coping with well.

They choose to use the data they have collected over the years to develop mass customisation rather than mass marketing. This means drive-thru digital menus that adapt depending on the time of day, weather and historical sales data. As an example, they will offer their clients a cold drink on a hot day or a coffee with the breakfast menu.

Interested in harnessing the power of Big Data for your business and following in the footsteps of the companies above? Discover the University of Cambridge Online course in Leveraging Big Data for Business Intelligence: https://bit.ly/3WILpdA(Opens in a new window)

References

Tudor, N. ‘7 real-world examples of how brands are using Big Data analytics.’ Bornfight, 27 Apr 2020. ‘https://www.bornfight.com/blog/7-real-world-examples-of-how-brands-are-using-big-data-analytics/(Opens in a new window) accessed 17 January 2022.