Hidden in the depths of business is a treasure chest brimming with customer gold.
Predictions by the UK arm of Call and Contact Centre Expo include this little titbit: "Businesses could be sitting on vast amounts of vital customer information hidden within their dark data; therefore contact centres might start analysing and using this data in an attempt to strengthen their engagement with their customers."
Gartner defines the term 'dark data' as the information assets organisations collect, process and store during regular business activities, but generally fail to use for other purposes. It states: "Similar to dark matter in physics, dark data often comprises most organisations' universe of information assets. Thus, organisations often retain dark data for compliance purposes only. Storing and securing data typically incurs more expense (and sometimes greater risk) than value."
But, what if there is boundless, priceless value to be found in dark data? What if the worthless information that has been costing a business quite a bit to store and secure actually was a vast gold mine? What if an out-of-the-box look was all that was needed to light up the spectacular treasure hidden inside the box?
Think, for a moment, of the abundance of info found in e-mails, customer calls, application data, machine logs, blog posts, videos and social data, to name a few. This information wealth is why the digital business world is finally seeing an uptake in dark data mining and polishing. The obvious is finally in plain sight.
Just last year, Apple bought Lattice Data for about $200 million, sparking a buzz in the media. This was because: "Apple is looking to integrate 'dark data' into its repertoire and open up an extraordinary amount of possibilities," and "If it wasn't already clear that Apple is committed to improving AI, it is now".
And it really is now. Time cannot be wasted to structure unstructured data as it grows every nanosecond. In fact, North-eastern University in the US published that 2.5 Exabytes are produced daily: that's an equivalent of 530 000 000 millions songs!
Where to start? With both a technology and a customer centric mindset. And, always remember one, singular data repository is the aim. From here it can grow, be shared and analysed. Also, don't try and find everything that's been hidden, decide what info will give you the best insight into your customers.
Finally, clearly identify what you want the end result to be: new partnerships, revenue opportunities or other, and invest meticulously into an automated data intelligence platform that will culminate in your success.
Share