How to Collect Data for Business
Data is collected by businesses for a multitude of reasons, with some methods being direct and others being indirect. There are many types of data a business can collect. Personal data which includes personally identifiable information such as social security number, date of birth, gender, IP address, device details, location and GPS data. Engagement data which directly conveys how consumers interact with a businesses website, mobile app, text messages, social media such as twitter, instagram, facebook and even emails. There is behavioral data which includes purchase history, product usage, how one interacts with different models and tools on a given website.
A business can collect this data and use it to their advantage to gain a leg up on the competition. For example, Dr. Jordan Sudberg, a prominent pain management doctor in New York could collect details on how patients rate their pain on a scale of one to ten regarding some specific injury. He could then use this data to deduce the pain threshold the average patient has when encountering that injury. This data collection can be helpful to the doctors office as well as his future patients. Another medical example could be the fact that Dr. Sudberg collects biometric data on his patients in order to analyze their age, weight, height and profession so he may diagnose accurately and prescribe medicine in a timely and sensical manner.
In this age of data and computers, data collection is seen in every facet of modern populations. Restaurant ordering data is collected and saved so that next time a person places an order with that restaurant they will be able to replicate their previous order and perhaps even make suggestions on other items that are complimentary that they may not think to order or even know is being offered.
Companies collect data in various ways, some as simple as handing out questionnaires to customers and collecting their answers for further analysis. Others use complex, multi-faceted algorithms to capture location-based advertising data to figure out where and why someone in a specific location may make a decision. Most of these data collection methods are not nefarious in any way, the companies and businesses are trying to cater to their customers better and streamline the processes that drive customers to use or purchase those items or services. One of the most indirect ways a business can collect data is appending sources of customer data to similar datasets that have comparable information. These data sets are matched with other data sets in related businesses or customer service entries to find similarities and patterns to easier understand the decision-making process. It is a relatively new way a business can collect a customer’s data passively, but it is becoming easier and easier as more data is being produced and collected daily. Dr. Jordan Sudberg points out that the collection of data will continue to evolve and grow as businesses spend more of their budgets on trying to analyze customers’ habits and patterns in order to gain an advantage over competing businesses.
