CRM and Big DataA recent study, "2014 IDG Enterprise Big Data Research," predicts that enterprises will spend approximately $8 million on Big Data in 2014, while 70% of Enterprise organizations already have or are planning to implement big data initiatives. The great promise of big data is a step towards data-driven decision making. By integrating big data into your CRM program, companies can predict customer behavior, improve customer service, and calculate ROI. While there are numerous possibilities made available through the use of big data, there are several barriers, including incomplete data, scale, complexity, and privacy concerns, leaving a large gap between the potential of big data and its realization. Let's take a closer look at what it is, how it is used, and how big data relates to CRM. What is big data? Big data is a kind of catch-all phrase that can be used to describe a huge volume of fast-moving data, which exceeds the current processing capacity of most companies; as standard tools and procedures are not designed to store and analyze these massive data sets. When used by vendors, big data can also refer to emerging technology used to store and process large amounts of data. The data can be transactional (social media) or analytical (clicks). It can also be structured or unstructured and include text, audio, video and images. How do companies use it? Big data can be divided into 5 main categories:1. Social Media: Used to understand consumer sentiment.2. Server Logs: Used to provide responsive IT.3. Web Clickstream: Used to achieve granular customer segmentation.4. Machine/sensor: Enables predictive analytics.5. Geolocation: Optimizing global logistics operations. How big data creates big v...... middle of paper ...... customers will respond in the future based on their past behavior and segmented demographics.5. Benchmarking: A powerful component of big data provides the data to perform detailed benchmarks over time. Benchmarking focuses on defined key indicators such as customer sentiment, loyalty and cost/revenue ratio per service call. Once you identify the areas where you are falling behind, you have the power to surpass industry standards. The Results Through in-depth analysis of the enormous volumes of data that rapidly become available, there is the potential to improve the bottom line of many businesses. Big data may be the key to not only optimizing your CRM software investment, but also bringing take your business to the next level with greater call center efficiency, more targeted marketing campaigns and increased sales revenue.