How to Efficiently Use Human Analytics in Business - Michael Osland
Businesses and marketers make use of many different technologies and strategies to understand their users. Some go after big data analytics (BDA), and others don't. But what is the difference between HR analytics and BDA? This article will dissect both to help you decide whether or not your business or brand should be investing in human analytics (HRA).
Human analytics - what are they?
Human analytics (HA) is also known as ethnographic marketing, user experience research, behavioral analysis, consumer insights, and market research through observation, observational research, behavior mapping, and contextual inquiry. HA utilizes these terms to understand the target audience's goals, needs, motivations behaviors while using a given product or system.
Human analytics Vs. Big Data Analytics - Michael Osland
HA is a distinct discipline from big data analytics (BDA). These differ in aspects such as the type of research, types of tools used to accomplish research, and purposes for which they are conducted.
The two main components that separate HA from BDA are time and expense. HA is conducted more quickly due to its focus on a more specific group or venue of users or consumers. Also, the cost is generally more contained than BDA since all needed for this type of research is one to two expert researchers who can easily share notes between themselves through technologies such as e-mail, text messages, phone calls, etc. This allows them to manage their time and share updates with the client efficiently.
On the other hand, BDA is time-intensive and expensive due to data collection, the assistance of statistical experts, data management, etc. HA allows businesses to closely monitor how different audiences react in real-time while using their product or service. This provides companies with invaluable insight into needs that consumers may not directly tell them about through surveys or focus groups.
The difference about the tools
The tools used for conducting HA research are vastly different than those used by big data analytics (BDA). For example, HC has access to marketing mix modeling, A/B testing, SEO analysis software (e.g., SiteSpect), and client testimonial databases (e.g., Trustpilot).
On the other hand, HA has access to audio and video recording software such as Camtasia, unstructured data analysis, and question guide templates. The tools used for conducting BDA research are based on predictive analytics and statistics, while the aforementioned tools focus on observational research. Observational research is a type of market research that collects primary or secondary data through direct observation of consumers in their native environment.
Benefits of human analytics for business
HA allows companies to understand their customers' needs, and motivations, behaviors, problems experienced when using a product or service/system that they offer - thus allowing them to design products and services that directly meet their customers' needs. It also will enable businesses to discover trends about customer wants, which you can then use for marketing purposes.
Finally, HA helps companies create business strategies through the information they gather from sales and support data analysis of consumer behavior, preferences, and usage patterns says Michael Osland.
Benefits of big data analytics for business
The primary benefit of BDA is gaining a deep insight into consumer behavior while using a product or service/system. A specific example would be a bank utilizing a predictive algorithm on their website's user activity in order to predict conversion rates for different users. This type of analytics has been shown to provide significant value from an ROI standpoint due to its high accuracy.