Whether you work in a small business, or run a large enterprise, you need Data. Nowadays, especially under the impact of COVID-19, the working processes are changing increasingly; so, as a result, digital presence is becoming more of a cruciality to ensure survival rather than a complementary action to enhance the work performance.
Now what is Data exactly? Data is the raw information that are extracted and converted into a certain form or aspect that is efficient for further processing. In simpler words, Data is transformed into information that allows the company to hold analysis of different departments, teams’ relations, marketing strategies or even customer service.
In fact, a Forbes article written by Shankar Kambhampaty mentions that: “Successful enterprises are extracting information and intelligence from all the data being collected to identify their target customers and sell products and services to them”.
So, here are 4 reasons why it is important for companies to make use of data especially under the impact of COVID-19.
Data Helps You Oversee and Monitor the Performance
Nowadays, companies are incorporating office work with work-from-home. However, due to this pandemic, companies are operating solely online and are being held remotely. Searching for the correct data and analyzing it gives companies the ability to identify and monitor the key performance indicators. These indicators are the measurable values that demonstrate whether the key objectives are being achieved or not.
When the company uses the data available and transform it into tools to measure performance, it gives itself the ability to better adapt in alignment with the changes resulting from the pandemic, in addition to being able to cultivate learning in a progressive manner. This leads to eventually achieving and fulfilling the mission of the organization.
Data Helps You Increase Efficiency and Cut Costs
Let’s say you take on a big project that has a specified deadline. During the planning phase, you are required to arrange all of the work processes starting from the tools you are going to use reaching the number of individuals that are going to implement this certain project with the number of hours needed. This can be time and energy consuming and not to mention the increasing direct and indirect costs.
However, having and using the proper data can decrease the amount of time and effort spent on work arrangements in addition to cutting on costs.
Data allows companies to find short cuts for achieving a certain matter, this results in reducing the amount of time and effort spent on a single task. In addition, analyzing data provides companies with baselines of the most fundamental costs. This allows the company and people working in it to start cutting on costs for the complementary desires and focus on the actual needs. When costs and time are decreased, efficiency and effectiveness are granted and thus the company is capable of achieving the same outcomes/output with less input of resources.
Now because of the pandemic, most of the big projects are being held from action, so how is data going to help companies reduce costs and time while doing their work? Data is not only used for big projects; it facilitates the workflow of regular daily work, small projects and enterprises through making them more aware of the potential extra costs that might be added.
Data Helps Companies in Identifying the Changing Consumer Behavior
Consumer Behavior is the study of how people make decisions regarding what they purchase, need, want or behave according to a relation with a certain good, service or, business. Whether the factors causing the change are psychological, personal or even social, under the impact of this pandemic these factors are changing majorly and are causing a shift in consumer behavior. Take a music streaming platform for example, nowadays people are no longer listening to music while driving or taking a walk as much as they used to, at the same time, there is an increase in the amount of times music has been played after midnight because people are staying awake till after midnight with music. The type of music that is being shared indicates missing each other and some might be even searching for religious songs.
Now were exactly is the role of data in this matter? Data allows companies to track their customers behavior, supplying them with insights and input. These inputs will later on by analyzed and mapped out to form customer journey strategies based on user behavior data analysis. Basically, with data companies can better monitor behaviors and thus form reactive strategies to not only go through this pandemic but also make use of it.
Data Can Be Easily Extracted
The burden of extracting data from the internet and analyzing it is no longer as restricting as it was. However, there is approximately an infinite amount of data present online, this means that if you need to find the nearest restaurant for your lunch, gathering data can be easy, however, if you want to gather emails and phone numbers (contact information and addresses) from various websites making a list of suppliers, manufacturers, potential stakeholders or other persons of interest to help you invest and implement your dream life project, it can be challenging and even time consuming.
The difference between enterprises that have millions of dollars as turnover per year and those who are struggling to have an equilibrium between their costs and revenues is the tools used to receive these data and manage them. I know this can be considered as an exaggeration, but a smooth, efficient and effective work process starts from a sufficient and proper input. Extracting data from the internet is referred to as crawling or scraping. Crawling means getting raw data using bots (or spiders) that crawl the world wide web and retrieving them in their unstructured form, however scraping refers to the act of extracting data, also using spiders, but in a structured manner.
The challenge that is accompanied with extracting data is that certain companies build their websites with progressive artificial intelligence which stops the work of the bots and restrains them from getting data.
Crawlbase allows its users to crawl and scrape the web for thousands or even billions of data and html documents while overcoming the blocks sent by websites and keeping your anonymity secure. Under the impact of Covid-19 and the increasing demand of digital presence, having and gathering the suitable data is becoming more of a must, and we at Crawlbase grant our users a progressive approach to gathering data with the right technological tools.
