Here are three industries that took notice, and are using web data to their advantage, strategically positioning themselves, and winning big time:
Travel on-demand
Web data is proving to be a powerful tool for companies in the travel space enabling them to better understand their customer’s needs, and competitor’s tactics in real-time, including:
- Cross-referencing data from public government sites regarding flight restrictions with travel offers, and marketing campaigns in specific geographies.
- Staying on top of search engine trends, enabling companies identify what products travel consumers have high intent for.
- Following consumer sentiment on social media and appropriately addressing concerns in ad campaigns as well as in cancellation/reimbursement policies (such as introducing ‘flexible tickets’, or ‘full refund, no questions asked’ policies).
- Keeping a close eye on competitor rates, and appropriately re-pricing travel deals based on a predefined dynamic pricing strategy.
Social media-first content outlets
In order for media outlets to remain relevant, and grow into new multi-platform hybrid creatures they are now utilizing web data in the following ways:
- Scanning social media for organic posts with high engagement (likes, comments, and shares), and then translating those into relevant ‘interest pieces’ on their sites.
- They then promote that content through paid campaigns across social media using data tools in order to perform ad verification ensuring that messaging, and target audiences are spot-on.
Consumer-driven manufacturing
Instead of creating products that ‘seem’ to work, or that have a ‘high probability’ of resonating with consumers. Companies are increasingly asking relevant questions ahead of initial manufacturing, and distribution stages, such as:
- Which product advertisements are relevant target audiences engaging with?
- Which products have high sales volume and in what regions?
The latter can help companies decide where to strategically set up new stocking/distribution centers, for example.
In order to answer these questions retailers with a digital-first presence are collecting web data sets that include
- Relevant brand/product reviews that pertain to the space they are operating in (e.g. women’s fashion)
- Scanning social media for influencers that are promoting a specific item
- Discovering what social, and environmental issues are being discussed by target audiences on platforms like Reddit. For example, if people are talking about the negative effects of utilizing plastics in the production of certain fabrics, companies can create ‘plastic-free’, ‘environmentally-friendly’ items that have a higher probability of resonating, driving above average Sell-Through Rates (STRs).
But how can I use web data to hit a home run?
No matter what industry you are in there are now no web data-based questions that you cannot answer in a matter of minutes. The ability to collect information using a fully automated tool in real-time is unprecedented and will put early-adopters into the corporate hall of fame.
