You are probably using different forms of predictive analytics every day without even realizing it. We can do a lot with data and predictive analytics to more accurately predict future outcomes.
Let's look at a restaurant for an example:
Jim has been eating at the same restaurant for years. He knows that upon his arrival, he'll be greeted with a smile and his favorite beverage will be on its way to his usual table without even placing the order. Fred, the restaurant manager, knows what Jim wants from the consistent history of his orders over time.
Jim loves a great burger, and there
happen to be new burgers on the menu this week. Fred won’t waste Jim’s time by trying to upsell him items he knows Jim has no interest in. He'll use what he knows about Jim and talk to him about the burgers on the menu because those are what he's more likely to buy.
What is Predictive Analytics?
Predictive analytics is the practice of extracting actionable information from data you already have. This allows you to find patterns and predict future behaviors and outcomes.
Why is this important for marketing?
Using Predictive Analytics techniques can be a great help for your marketing efforts. When you follow and begin to analyze the actions people are taking on your site, you can start to recognize different trends and patterns. Maybe they looked at a specific blog post and then navigated to a specific product after reading that post. Some then ended up purchasing a certain product and this same pattern may have repeated with 20 other customers this month! Your data contains repeating patterns that can suggest which content or products to promote to help lure your users into the most successful of those patterns.
Using this type of personalization, you can shine a spotlight on your customers’ needs and wants. Every one of your customers has a relationship with your business and a data history. Studying that history is the key to connecting more personally and profitably with your customer.
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