In the last article, we discussed how retailers could deliver useful, effective, and timely CX both during the crisis and in the long run. We are experiencing a digital acceleration caused by the need to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many aspects of digital transformation that would have taken years to fully integrate will now become standard much more quickly. One of these areas is data monetization.

Data monetization is no longer a pipe dream; retailers now have the technology and expertise to make use of it. Businesses that get this right can create incredible potential to monetize their data in a variety of areas of their business.

Current Industry Challenges

  • Inability to use the data efficiently.
  • Data monetization still is considerably low in adoption due to longer maturity period, unsuccessful/inefficient use-cases/techniques
  • Data quality is by far the most common obstacle to monetizing data
  • Data privacy, customer behavioral data may cause a problem because tracking the customer can impact customer privacy.

The fact that CEO’s, who are the executives responsible for any major business changes or repositioning, don’t fully exploit or understand the power or how fast data monetization can generate new revenues or reduce corporate costs can be a challenge that may define the continuity or death of a company within its segment. The next step for CIO’s and their C-suite counterparts is to turn that information into profit, so CEO’s may finally understand how important it is for business.

In today’s business environment, big data is becoming an ever-growing asset that needs to be leveraged effectively to achieve monetization benefits. The very nature of this asset is dynamic and hence, timely execution is critical.

The monetization strategy should thus focus on

Data monetization tools integrate big data and analytics capabilities to empower enterprises to monetize the data generated from various departments. Data monetization tools and services further help enterprises extract concealed information, enhance the operational efficiency by predicting the anomalies faster in a business cycle, serve consumers’ intrinsic needs by comprehending consumers’ buying behavior and patterns, thereby enhancing the overall customer experience.

Data Monetization Depends on Six Main Capabilities 

  1. Data acquisition and processing (Eg: MDM, Meta Data management, etc.)
  2. Data platform-tools (Hadoop, Cloud, Edge server, etc.)
  3. Data science activities (Data exploration, Build Models, train and test models, finding the insights, visualize the data, etc.)
  4. Understanding customer needs, behavior providing better customer experience (Eg: Collect the inputs from the sales team about customer needs, analyze the social media data to understand the behavior of the customer)
  5. Use of data in terms of meeting all the concerns. (Eg; regulations and compliance)
  6. Building data-oriented decision management culture at all levels in the organization

Why Data Monetization Is Essential for Your Organization?

  • Firstly, Data monetization helps the company in cost reduction, which indirectly helps in revenue-maximization. Companies leveraging data are enjoying diverse benefits like a better understanding of consumer behavior, better strategic decisions leading to cost reduction.
  • Secondly, it aims at pulling up data to boost a company’s functioning, its services, productivity and efficiency
  • In addition, Data Monetization enables better interactions with users. Digital-native disruptors, such as Amazon, Netflix, and Airbnb, monetize data internally by gaining an intimate understanding of their customers. They look at things such as demographics, special needs, historical purchases and interactions, shopping behaviors, and pivotal events, offering highly personalized products and services thereby delighting customers at every touch point.
  • Facilitates the optimization of supply and service delivery chains.
  • Helps suppliers in improving their category share by understanding product, category, and shopper demand better.
  • Extends product and service offerings.

Above all, it helps in generating new revenue opportunities. Turning information into a new product is a way to generate revenue. Your company might compile loads of data on trends in your industry, for example. Converting such information into reports that are sold to outside parties is one of the most time-honored data monetization strategies.

Data Monetization Use Cases

1. Advancing Omni-channel strategies using data and emerging technologies – For example, the partnership between European retailers Carrefour or Fnac-Darty and Google focuses on voice commerce, allowing customers to order directly through the Google Assistant and connected speakers like Google Home.

2.Targeted ads based on click insights for brands and advertisers – Use data analytics technologies on audience data and determine which types of customers are most likely to respond to certain advertisements. Targeted ads, have better response and purchase conversion, increasing ROI and reducing wasted advertising dollars.

  • For instance, an auto insurance company found that more than 80% of the total 100,000 households they sent marketing emails had the wrong demographics as those set of people would never buy insurance from them. After using data and analytics, they noticed a tenfold response rate and drastically cut down on marketing costs.

3.Location-based analytics– With users’ permission, Uber may sell the location of its users to other businesses. Other companies can use this data to provide different vouchers, promotions or discounts to consumers. Now, with Uber Eats, it is even more visible. Personalized messages, with the information tailored to the specific customer, helps both businesses profit from it.

What Do Experts Recommend?

  • Improve the data strategy,
  • Leverage the internal data across the organizations,
  • Align data strategy with organization goals,
  • Absorb the cross-industry data usage, technical concepts,
  • Adopt the right tools,
  • Build in-house capabilities; improve the collaboration between functional SME’s and Data Scientist teams.

Aspire’s Framework – Framing a winning data monetization strategy

Embarking on this Journey

The value of data is now unquestionable, whether your company uses it to enhance internal operations, innovation, or works within a B2B partnership.

Effective execution is critical to the success of any strategy, including data monetization strategies. Without the correct amount of executive attention, dedication, and priority assignment, as well as the right culture and structure, the breadth and degree of achievement will be jeopardized.

The foundation for a winning data monetization strategy must be dynamic and evolving (much like data), but the commitment to winning via the strategic use of data and analytics across our existing value delivery process, as well as new innovative commercialization scenarios, should be rock solid.

While large volumes of data are common in today’s digital environment according to McKinsey, the ability to harness the commercial value and efficiently monetize big data is the ultimate source of competitive advantage. The proper enablers, such as significant investment in technology, infrastructure, and personnel, as well as a persistent dedication to this journey, will be required to capture this value.