Here at vLinkD, we offer business intelligence solutions to help your enterprise make smarter, more informed decisions. As part of this, our data mining offering is particularly popular among our clients.

But what, exactly, is data mining – and how can it help businesses like yours when it comes to making decisions?

What is data mining?

At its simplest level, data mining involves analysing specific sets of data and identifying any patterns that may occur.

In the technological era, when computers rule and every action we take – whether on our computers, laptops or smartphones – is recorded, data can offer companies hugely valuable insight into a whole range of things, from customer habits to the effectiveness of particular online marketing methods.

The volume of data we produce is doubling every two years, so data mining is only going to become more and more valuable in the future. Source: sas.com

How can data mining be used?

Data mining often involves looking at data in the following ways:

• Predicting patterns based on trends and analysis of behaviour.
• Predicting likely outcomes.
• Creating decision-oriented information.
• Using large data sets and databases to analyse.
• Looking for clusters.

By looking at the above, you can sift through the vast amounts of data your company has available and understand what is genuinely relevant and insightful. Once you have what you need, you can make better, more informed decisions and establish a marketing strategy that really targets your core customers.

How can data mining help your business?

Below are just a few of the advantages data mining can provide to your business:

Identifying target groups

Through cluster analysis, it’s possible to pick out certain user groups, simply by identifying common features, such as demographics, within a database. You can, therefore, send promotions to the target audience for your particular product or service – whether that’s middle-aged women, teenagers, mothers and so on – without wasting precious money from your marketing budget on targeting people who are clearly not interested in what you have to offer.

Making forecasts

If you could pick any superpower, being able to tell the future would be your choice, right? Data mining pretty much allows you to do this, through regression analysis. By looking at past behaviour in a number of areas, we can have a decent idea of what’s going to happen once certain actions are taken.

Spotting mistakes

Mistakes can be costly for any business and could even cause you to lose clients or custom. By looking at large data sets, you can identify any inconsistencies or anomalies and take actions to eliminate them before they cause you too much harm.

Contact us today

If you think data mining could benefit your business and provide valuable insights to your marketing strategy, give the Business Intelligence team at vLinkD a call today on 1300 793 465.