Bicyu: Big Data

icyu Publications presents

BIG DATABig data.What is it?It either fills you with fear, orexcitement.In this short E-book we will quicklyexploreBIG DATA, what it is and what it ain’t.

Big data is over hyped, over ratedand, by and large, misused andmisunderstood by many businessesWho we speak with.

To be successful and effective as a marketing tool don't; focus on Data to evaluate your business or marketing efforts. Instead, use it to: UNDERSTAND CONSUMERS. This strategy will automatically lead to marketing efforts insights. Data should primarily be About People, NOT PRODUCTS

My Big What?There are an awful lot of [or lot of awful] marketing companies whotalk about data, especially BIG data in marketing, and try to make itsound like something new, complex, magical and technical.Subsequently many businesses become confused, don't fullyunderstand and so either give up or pay far too much for little return.If you have been around as long as us, you may recognise thesimilarities to the old SEO cheats, fraudsters and scammers.The aim of this book is not to sell you something you don’tunderstand or can't afford but to clarify some of these issues andshow that rather than a liability Data DrivenMarketing is an asset every business should have.

We know we can improve your ROI by using data to drive your marketing, wealso know we can do it inside your budget, but we also know for manybusinesses, Data management is something they believe they don't need, can'tafford - either in terms of time or money - or is best left to the IT department. WRONG – Keep your IT far, far away from marketing!!What we'd like to do is try to strip away the hype or buzz and show you howand why Data and Business Intelligence is an important element in doingbusiness in China today.In truth, whilst DATA is now terribly important for the modern business, it isNOT new, it has been around as Long as business, we used to call itRESEARCH and ANALYSIS.We know, we began back in 2003 as a research firm using surveys to findconsumers wants, needs and habits.Today we use Digital, or more correctly mobile.

Big data, the name makes it sound impressive and somehowmystical so it is easy to peddle misinformation,but in fact, BIGrefers to the quantity, nothing else.Digital mobile devices create an enormous amount of digitaldata...... but: Size isn't important my dear; as the Bishop said to the actress.Now if you relate this to traditional research, the info you gainedfrom a survey was of limited use.. until you analysed and processedit, the old number crunching.Then you could tell that 85% of yourcustomers preferred red.. hmm.

It was not the HUGE amount of info from your survey thatwas important as a marketing tool, but rather the smalldetails that you distilled from it.Nothing has really changed, Big Data it is another overhyped buzzword aimed at confusing marketers much likethe those who promised you first page ranking with SEO.Sure, today Data IS important, vital, but it is not the sizethat matters, it is how you use it that is critical to yoursuccess.

Data Helps youuncover ConsumersReal Needs, Wants andReactions to yourMarketing Material.

Business needs have changed over time, in Granddad's day he didn't needan automated cash register, spread sheet or digitalintelligence to run his business.He probably kept a cash book and journal which told him most of what heneeded to know about business and customers.He understood his customers from talking to them, personally.He knew the value in understanding customers, but as business hasbecome more complex, this most important aspect has become moredifficult and somewhat undervalued.Understanding what, when, why and how customers buy is vital to anybusiness otherwise how do we know if we making any money on thiscustomer?How sensitive are they to packaging, store Layout, brand colours,marketing and of course, PRICE

It isn't that business owners do not want to know this, theproblem now is one of quantity. The volume of data we gathereach day is so big it becomes a logistic nightmare to analyse,often far beyond the means of average businesses.Therefore we often loose valuable customer insight becauseof the complexity and difficult. Business intelligence (or DigitalIntelligence) offers a way for brands to unlock the secrets thatmay have been left untapped.

Today in China, collecting and evaluating market research iscritical for every brand, large or small but the speed of changemakes it extremely challenging.Digital Intelligence is NOT a silver bullet or a magical cure allmedicine, it is a valuable tool that allows intelligent businessowners the means to drill down into their data and produceclearer, quicker insights to help them make better informeddecisions on running their business, and in today's businessworld,speed and accuracy are important.

But hang on a mo Bic, you keep waffling on about Digital Intelligence. What is that? Glad you asked that young Grasshopper. We have asked Mr Edward Snowdon to cover that in the next page or three.... please, read on

DIGITAL INTELIWHAT?Digital intelligence is the in-depth knowledge or insight gained fromthe collection and analyse of data from digital devices to helpcompanies understand their customers and make better decisions intheir marketing campaigns, increase sales and strengthen customerloyalty.Most often by tracking your fans, visitors or consumers interactionwith your website, social media platform, or marketing campaign.Digital intelligence Marketing uses the data or knowledge you haveto create superior marketing strategies aimed at the needs, or habits ofyour consumers.Brands which can develop winning strategies with digital intelligencein the face of increased competition and mountains of data willtriumph over their competitors.

Now, once you understand your consumers feelings, attitudes,behaviour and demographics you make smarter, faster, accurate DigitalMarketing decisions.By reacting instantly in real time, your digital marketing campaign isalways focused at your consumers needs and reflects changes as theyhappen. This results in a better targeted campaign and of course, ROI.Digital Intelligence solutions provides you strong marketingconfidence because accurate, real time information needed to makesound decisions is always right at your fingertips.In-depth analysis of digital data from mobile devices gives youongoing valuable insight into how consumers relate to your products,interact with various social media and what their real needs are. Basedon this data, we can tweak our marketing content or strategy to suit. We cover this in another E-book: “Closed Loop Marketing.”

Traditional research and analysis did not have to tohandle the breadth of channels, devices, volume, andspeed of today's digital business world.We were also limited by the accuracy or honesty ofrespondents replies. it was staff and time intensive,and there were definite limitations on the amount ofinformation or data we could collect and collate. Today, Bicyu provides services to take the burden off busy companies so they can focus on what they know best

Oh, How Things Change!The best known \"Digital Intelligence\" is probably Google Analytics,today's digital form of what we used to call Research and Analysis.Today, the quantity problem is reversed, businesses are swamped withso much data, [euphemistically called Big Data because of its quantity]and are not able to fully exploit it.Mobile means we no longer need to worry about accuracy ofinformation, or even ask for it, our fans, customers willingly provide itevery time they use their digital device via Social Media.So whether they know it or understand it or not, it would be hard tofind a business today that is not effected by Digital Intelligence even ifthey are not using it to its fullest ability.They may deny the effectiveness for them but it is also quite likelytheir competitors do not.

Study after study, customer survey after customer surveyconclusively proves that Brands who engage their customerswith Digital Intelligence have a distinct edge over their competition. In relationship driven China, it is fatal to ignore this.So Digital Intelligence provides businesses with valuable data, ahuge amount of valuable data, from micro blogs, SMS, Emails, andchat, providing a snapshot of what their customers are thinking atany given time.This in turn, when analysed arms businesses with an opportunity tomeet customers needs and secure brand loyalty with In boundmarketing. P/s Edward didn't really write that!

So, How Can This Help YOUR Brand in China?Digital Intelligence drives China inbound, relationship marketing byproviding insights into fans, clients, customers or leads allowing brandsto develop campaigns that are relevant and meaningful, satisfyingcustomers needs and wants. This creates love in your clients.IN BOUND marketing built on Digital Intelligence and ContentMarketing helps brands produce content that their Chinese customerswelcome and value.Finally, some time back, the Thoughtful China team produced anamazing video re data, hosted by Kitty Bu. Sadly Thoughtful havefolded their tent but a search should find it in their podcasts.

Thanks for reading our small E-book, as you can probably sense, weare pretty passionate about using data to build great customerrelationships and get steamed up about fake information.We hope we have inspired you to take a more serious look at howdata can help you, and that we have motivated you to make love toyour Chinese customers today!If you have any questions, would like clarification, assessment,estimate or would like to know how any of Bicyu's services or SaaStools can make your life and business in China easier and moreprofitable we would love to hear from you.