Do you use data science in your online store?
By:
Admin Super
Today, data science is not limited to the biggest corporations with multi-million marketing and development budgets. Thanks to available tools and smart processes, even small companies can use available data to improve their operations and reach customers more effectively. So, really, there can be just one answer to the title question – you should!
Think about your online store as a place that gathers and processes tons of information each day. Every order, every new account and every product is a source of valuable data that can be used to improve the way your company works. In the e-commerce sector, data typically comes from:
- Marketing campaigns(just to mention Google Analytics and marketing automation tools)
- Website(activity on the website, most clicked links and subpages, viewed product categories and tabs…)
- Social media(posts, comments, interactions, mentions of your brand)
- Customer service(emails and messages you receive and, in some cases, even phone calls)
- HR(received resumes, employee information)
- Finance and accounting(company’s financial data, revenue, costs, investments)
Now think that you can use all that to understand how your company works, what’s good and optimised, and what requires some tweaking. With good data analytics software, you can turn this raw data into actionable insights. The result is easy to predict – you improve the way your company works. It’s also a good idea to add external data (such as whitepapers, market studies and reports) into the mix. This way, you get a comprehensive view of your company and the sector it operates in.
Let’s use a simple example. For the e-commerce sector, product prices are crucial. You need to know what’s the optimal price for each product and how much your competitors charge for them. With data analytics (and pricing tools), you can find that out and adjust your prices accordingly. The same is true with a lot of different aspects of e-commerce business, including:
- Product availability
- Current market situation (e.g., the inflation rate)
- Shipping rates
- Personalised product recommendations
Benefits of data science
With a well-designed data science solution, you can:
- Improve communication with customers: Here, you have an abundance of available data, including purchase history, product searches and brand mentions – it all can be used to understand what your customers want and need from a store like yours. With data analytics in place, you can benefit from customer segmentation, smart product recommendations, cross-selling and upselling. In other words – with data science, you can make more money.
- Create better marketing campaigns: Data analytics help you understand where your customers are located and what messages are needed to trigger their interest. Moreover, data science is the foundation enabling using the most effective marketing tools, e.g., AI-powered personalisation and automation.
- Optimise your budget: Here, we mean mostly marketing budget, but not only. Data science can help you uncover potential savings your company can generate, e.g., by using more affordable alternatives or better software.
- Tailor customer experience: Do you know what customers expect from your store? Gather feedback and analyse market data to find that out. As a result, you can tailor the purchasing process in your store and satisfy customers with an easy and quick shopping experience. The same refers to customer support and everyday communication.
- New product development: If you’re not just selling but also making or manufacturing products, you can use available data to minimise the risk related to developing and introducing new products to the market. Again, use available data and use it to create products that match customer preferences and market needs.
Lastly, we want to mention two words about predictive analytics. It’s an advanced AI-powered solution that gives you insight into how your products (and store in general) can perform in the future. It’s a good foundation for more informed decisions regarding your store’s future.
To benefit from all these applications, though, you need an experienced business partner who has vast knowledge and expertise in the e-commerce sector, as well as managing and analysing available data. See e-commerce strategy and innovation services to discover more.
