Month: January 2014

Marketing, at its core, is about two things: figuring out what exactly people want, and then positioning your product as the one that can deliver that most effectively. For a long time, before the ready proliferation of information, marketers were forced to do that via instinct — they had to quickly size up consumers and then hope that their impressions were correct. It was difficult, if not impossible, to determine how effective their techniques were.

Big Data changed that process. Instead of making choices blindly, marketers were able to use data to effectively identify the needs of their customers and figure out how best to target those needs. However, despite that obvious value, there are some pitfalls that are important to avoid in order to get the most out of the process.

Identify your core brand. It's critical to be able to adapt, but it's also crucial to provide a sense of continuity. Even companies with histories as long as Coca-Cola aren't immune to this trap: In 1985, the soft drink giant introduced "New Coke", a brand that tasted similar to top competitor Pepsi. Management thought it was a slam dunk. Pepsi had been winning in blind taste tests, so people clearly would gravitate towards this novel drink, right?

Wrong.

It became one of the biggest disasters in marketing history. Eventually, Coca Cola brass came to a conclusion that they should have started with — instead of using data analysis to copy your rivals, you should use it to enhance what is positive about your own brand. Once they went back to that, they retained their market dominance, and are still the leader in the industry, nearly two decades later.

Another potential mistake that marketers make is becoming complacent. They set up their custom database software, and expect it to do all of the work, while they blindly implement whatever it says to do. The oversight here is two fold. Not only is it important to have systems in place for properly evaluating the results and being able to separate signal from noise, it's critical to continue to improve the way in which you input data. Getting help with FileMaker isn't just a good idea, it's one that could save your core business.

Like any powerful tool, Big Data is incredibly helpful with the right insight and guidance. To properly wield it, make sure you have a firm understanding of the implications.

Residents across the Northeastern part of the United States, from Ohio to Maine, are in the process of digging out from the first major snow storm of 2014. Some areas have seen as much as two feet of the white fluff pile up and keeping the roadways clear is becoming increasingly difficult. On top of that, the below-zero temperatures are making road treatment processes less than effective.

This scene is not unusual in many parts of the United States during the winter months, but there is a new innovation that is making snow removal and road work much easier.

A recent article from the Daily Camera, a Boulder Colorado newspaper, profiled the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the new "smart plow" it developed and is testing in Michigan, Minnesota and Nevada. The process works by analyzing information from several databases including satellite and radar observations, computer weather models and real-time data collected from special sensors outfitted to plows that are clearing the streets.

The goal is to continuously monitor weather conditions and keep up with trouble areas more effectively. This will reduce accidents and save states potentially millions of dollars in maintenance.

"Whereas in the past, drivers would have some new data maybe every 30, 40 or 50 miles, now you could just look up every mile, and hopefully pick up the more subtle small things that happen on the roadway," said Sheldon Drobot, the NCAR scientist who has overseen the system's design.

This is just another example of how custom database software can be used to harness big data and improve an aspect of daily life.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a better motto for Calvin and Hobbes than “there’s treasure everywhere.” Bill Watterson, the strip’s artist, thought it fit so well that he even used it as the title for one of the comic’s collections. The eponymous line is spoken when Calvin, after digging in the yard for hours and finding nothing more than rocks, a weird root and some grubs, happily shows off his bounty.

This same sense of optimism can and should guide your company’s forays into the world of Big Data.

Large-scale projects are popping up that are designed to cull billions of interactions and speak to the greater human experience. However, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a lot of value in smaller projects that you can do without a huge expenditure on infrastructure. With a small amount of FileMaker development, your business can begin getting valuable insights without needing to add an entirely new department to analyze it.

A recent article in Ad Age spoke to just how many insights can be yielded when you just start looking.

“There really is data everywhere that you can tap into right now that will help you understand how customers, suppliers and others view you, your company and your products,” writes author Jim Louderback.

Finding out more about your potential consumer base and how you can best serve them doesn’t have to be an endeavor that bankrupts you. Instead, you can grab a copy of FileMaker, roll up your sleeves and start digging in your own backyard. There could very well be buried treasure cleverly disguised as old rocks.