When we have the conversation about data, we always hear the term “big data.” Like big pharma, or big tech, or big whatever, big data has become a blanket term used to discuss any kind of quantitative analytics tracking. However, the truth is when making actionable insights or long-term goals no one actually uses big data, they are using small data. Big data is vast, dense, and hard to interpret, whereas small data is that large data set condensed and focused. Think of the weather reports you see on TV. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gathers data on weather patterns from all over the country. Millions of data points taking into account hundreds of variables, transformed into a clear and easily readable chart that the public can understand. Small data is important to understand because it is a set of specific attributes that can bring us meaningful actionable insights about our business.

What’s the difference?

To truly appreciate small data and how it can benefit you, we need to break down the differences between big and small. There are many areas where we can differentiate these two, but I want to keep it simple and look at the three Vs, volume, variety, and velocity.

As I have been saying, data is a necessity in today’s world. However, for many small businesses that want to start quantifying their progress to form actionable objectives, big data is not feasible. To amass and analyze such large quantities of data we would need teams of specially trained data scientists and analysts. The easy accessibility of small data levels the playing field of small businesses trying to become competitive in the digital landscape.

Benefits of small data

• It is everywhere! – Small data is very easily accessible and most of us don’t realize that it is at our fingertips. All the major social media platforms provide constant data about buyer persona and the consumer lifecycle. Not only that, but our customers are also constantly creating small data for us every time they login to a social media account or tap on an ad.
• It is almost immediately usable – Going from a small data dashboard or report to an actionable insight is a remarkably short jump. It does not take the greatest data savvy minds in the world to look at small data and come to a conclusion about what it means for a business.
• It makes for almost real-time business decisions – The constant rate in which we can access small data allows for smooth and quick changeups to our strategies. With small data we can track conversation and sentiment trends about products or campaigns. This lets us make month to month or even week to week changes to our marketing strategy.

It is great that more and more companies are realizing the importance of data. However, just collecting vast quantities of data and storing it will benefit no one. Over time, and without proper analysis, those huge data sets will become a hinderance. By reducing the vast amounts of data we collect and focusing them to fit our business needs, we can create a continuous stream of actionable insights and a truly flexible business strategy.

How do you use small data? Do you prefer to use big data? I would love to hear different perspectives on the debate between big data vs. small data. Let me know in the comments!

References:

Banafa, A. (2018, August 01). Small data vs. Big DATA: Back to the basics. Retrieved February 09, 2021, from https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/technology/digital-world/small-data-vs-big-data-back-to-the-basics/

Miglani, S. (2016, October 24). Big data and Small Data: What’s the difference? Retrieved February 09, 2021, from https://www.dataversity.net/big-data-small-data/

Patel, N. (2020, January 23). It ain’t big: How small data can help in increasing your sales? Retrieved February 09, 2021, from https://neilpatel.com/blog/it-aint-big-how-small-data-can-help-in-increasing-your-sales-2/