Role of data science in business decision making

[Link] customer needs and preferences

Data analytics can help businesses understand their customers' needs and preferences by
analysing their behaviours and interactions with the brand. For example, an eCommerce
company can use data analytics to analyse their customer data including purchase history,
search queries, and website interactions to gain valuable insights into what products their
customers are interested in, their preferred payment methods, and the platforms they use
to access the brand.

These actionable insights can help the company tailor their marketing and advertising
efforts, product offerings, and user experience to better align with their customers'
preferences, ultimately leading to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty.

The beauty industry was badly affected during COVID-19, and our client, a Thailand cosmetic
brand was no exception. With lockdowns, malls closure, and the difficulty to reconnect with
the right audience, sales plunged. We utilised data visualisation and enrichment to get a
clearer picture of what our client’s potential consumers were like. From the insights
gathered, we identified three personas. Based on the personas, we created multiple hook
messages, background images, and end scenes. The messages had been tailored to address
the pain points of WFH and some common makeup mistakes that matched each persona. As
a result, brand engagement increased by 156% and cost-per-click (CPC) decreased by 27%.

2. Optimising operations

With many mega players such as Apple and Starbucks offering omnichannel experiences to
their target customers, it is wise for a company to not solely focus their budget on digital-
driven initiatives but also invest in offline channels such as physical shops as well.
Establishing a store at the right location requires one to consider multiple factors, such as
footfall, the density of the target market, as well as the competitors in the same area. This is
where data analytics can be exploited to determine the ideal locations for physical store
setup.
Due to the fierce competition in Indonesia’s banking industry, our client, a local commercial
bank ,wanted to identify the presence and distribution of Syariah banking competitors in a
few key locations before opening a new branch. With ADA’s Location Planner, the bank was
able to verify the customer behaviour of a certain location. Aside from identifying the non-
performing branches for relocation, the insights gathered from the solution were integrated
into their 5-year branch transformation blueprint.

3. Improving marketing strategies

Data analytics can help businesses improve their marketing strategies by providing insights
into the effectiveness of their campaigns. For example, with data analytics, brands can view
the performance of a social media campaign at a glance. By knowing the engagement rates,
click-through rates, and conversions, you can tell the type of content your audiences enjoy,
thereby using similar and effective tactics to drive sales. Based on this information, the
marketing team can make data-driven decisions to optimise their campaigns and achieve
better results.

Our client, an American footwear company, wanted the highest-ever single-day sales on
Shopee Singapore and Malaysia during Super Brand Day (SBD) campaign. With consumer
insights, we gathered insights about our potential target audience and “deal-seeking” online
consumers. The creative strategy is a combination of “Branding” and “Promotion” led
content with best-in-class assets to entice purchases. The results? We generated more than
20 times the traffic in both markets. Sales increased by 47 times in Singapore and 30 times
in Malaysia.

4. Predicting trends and market changes

Data analytics can help businesses predict trends and market changes by analysing data on
customer behaviours, industry trends, and economic indicators. For example, a retailer can
use data analytics to track seasonal buying patterns, monitor social media trends, and
analyse economic indicators to anticipate changes in consumer behaviours and adjust their
product offerings and marketing efforts accordingly. This can help the retailer stay ahead
and take advantage of new opportunities as they arise.
Though with a loyal fanbase, the business growth of a quick service restaurant (QSR) chain
in Thailand plateaued without any major campaigns for the past two years. They conducted
a survey and discovered that Thai consumers felt that the brand was not approachable. We
extracted multiple data sets with a combination of tools: Audience Explorer to track real-
time data; Location Analytics to gather footfall data; Consumer Profiling to understand
consumers’ attributes and behaviours. These allowed us to predict the likelihood of a
consumer purchasing from the said chain. We chose audiences with an affinity for food &
dining, used geolocation data to pinpoint areas with a high footfall of competitor outlets,
and served ads to audiences seen in those areas. To win new customers, we excluded those
who have visited the QSR chain’s website with the new menu. The campaign turned out to
be a success as daily sales increased by 12%.

5. Making data-driven decisions

Data analytics enables businesses to make data-driven decisions based on quantitative

insights rather than intuition. For example, a financial services company can use data
analytics to monitor customer spending patterns and identify potential fraud or
unauthorised transactions. Based on this information, the company can make data-driven
decisions to improve their fraud prevention efforts and protect their customers' accounts.
By making decisions based on data rather than intuition, businesses can reduce the risk of
errors and make more informed decisions that lead to better outcomes.

As concern over the COVID-19 pandemic escalated, a transportation service leader in

Indonesia, engaged with ADA to learn more about the mobility pattern and profiles of the
commuters in various points of interest (POI), plus to validate several assumptions on their
passenger segments. With the combination of Recency, Frequency, and Monetary (RFM)
analysis, Point of Interest (POI) analysis, commuter density analysis, and data visualisation
and enrichment, we discovered our client’s passengers were skewed towards business users
and high affluence groups, and 13 out of the 60 POIs listed had the client’s taxi stand within
reasonable reach. Data like this allowed our client to explore loyalty programmes and
expansion opportunities to provide their services across the other 47 POIs, as well as
optimising route planning to locate or relocate current transportation services.