6 ways to win in business with big data analytics
Jean-Paul Isson, a world-renowned expert in applied business analytics, is coming to Concordia in April. | Courtesy of Isson
The Large Hadron Collider is a classic example of big data: according to the European Organization for Nuclear Research, its 150 million sensors deliver data 40 million times a second. After filtering, that’s approximately 600 “collisions of interest” per minute.
And these days, aficionados of particle physics aren’t alone in their thirst for data on a colossal scale. From Google, Amazon and Walmart to smartphone providers everywhere, companies are adjusting their business models in response to the vast volume of information they are now technologically capable of capturing and studying.
This spring, Concordia’s John Molson Executive Centre (JMEC) is offering two programs designed to help managers and other business professionals leverage the power of advanced data analytics: Winning with Big Data Analytics — a two-day seminar on April 9 and 10 — and the new Executive Certificate in Advanced Business Analytics.
Both will be taught by Jean-Paul Isson, a world-renowned expert in applied business analytics. He is the global vice-president of business intelligence and predictive analytics at Monster Worldwide and author of the best-selling book Win with Business Analytics: Creating Business Value from Your Data (2012).
In anticipation of the JMEC program launch, Isson let us in on his top professional tips.
Jean-Paul Isson’s 6 ways to win in business with big data analytics
1. Identify your business questions
“Cleary define the business challenge you want to address. For example, one of your goals might be to increase your customer retention through proactive outreach.”
2. Master your big data: integrate, standardize and govern it
“Gather all of the customer and market data that you need to build an analytics framework that will help you understand customer behaviour and the overall market trends.”
3. Provide meaning via analytics
“Analytics can help you determine who your customers are, which ones are at risk of leaving, why they might want to leave, when they are most likely to turn to the competition.”
4. Make actionable recommendations
“Big data analytics can help you determine what drives your customers’ behaviours. You can use this information to help design your proactive retention strategy.”
5. Communicate your insights
“You must communicate analytics findings to all employees in your organization who interface with customers. These findings need to be communicated clearly, in terms that resonate both with the employee and with customers.”
6. Track outcomes
“After launching those proactive fact-based decisions to drive customer retention, it is important to track the results of your overall data-driven strategy to showcase the ROI to the business. You test, learn, innovate and improve.”