Got Small Data? How to Build Upon It to Compete More Effectively in 2015

Everyone’s heard of big data these days, but what about small data? Just like big data, it has a lot of value to offer, and it’s used almost daily by the small business crowd. According to the Center for Media Research, small data is “activity-oriented data which is locally-sourced, easily accessible, and used to deliver immediate results, such as email marketing reports.”

While most companies are actively gathering information about their customers and prospects to better address their needs, the amount of data they’re collecting hasn’t reached big data proportions yet. Instead, they’re making use of the data within their reach – their small data — to acquire new customers, meet their sales quotas and more.

Where are they getting that small data? A research brief by the Center for Media Research says that among the 79% of small businesses using small data for marketing, this is where it’s coming from:

• Email marketing reports
• Website analytics
• Social media analytics
• Sales trends

It won’t be long before small to midsize businesses (SMBs) catch up with larger organizations that are actively using big data. According to the research, “2015 will be the year businesses take actionable second and third party data sources and apply them to the marketing ecosystems that they have been assembling.” And by bringing new data into the mix, SMBs will be one step closer to using big data and in a position to compete more effectively with larger companies.

Where will they acquire the outside data? Many SMBs will begin augmenting their internal databases by turning to a reputable business contacts service. These services aren’t new to the market. In fact, some have been around for decades. And they’re experts at generating the kind of data that SMBs need to extend the reach of their marketing campaigns, giving executives the ability to obtain the telephone, email or office address of new leads and prospects that fit their customer profile. Contacts can be selected by location (ZIP, city, state, nationwide), business demographics, job function, job title, and more, giving SMBs all the information they need to get their messages out to the right prospects.

A reputable business contacts service will also give you unlimited annual use of the email data you acquire, allowing SMBs to get the most value out of it over time – which is very important for small and growing firms. In addition, the best business contacts services will also release complete email data files to clients, empowering SMBs to easily and cost effectively conduct their own email marketing campaigns –without the limits and restrictions of other data providers.

So as you look to build your business in 2015, start by looking for ways to build your data. Chances are, acquiring new business intelligence to augment the small data you already have will not only give you a way to generate additional sales leads, but also empower you to compete against your larger competitors – and win.

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A reputable business contacts service such as BizFACTZ can help your business enter new markets, find new customers and grow in 2015. If you think you might want to give BizFACTZ a try, use offer code INTRO and receive a 20% discount on your first business contacts order. Clickhere to find out more.