Have Big Data & AI internal capability gaps been barriers to your company’s success during COVID-19?
By: Ebusiness Institute
Tags: Coronavirus, Success, Big Data, Ebusiness, Opportunity

Companies with Big Data & AI internal capabilities that allow them to spot opportunities and anticipate problems have thrived during the COVID-19 crisis.

Knowledge and methods quickly go out of date in a fast-moving digital environment.

And these outdated ways of doing things can put great stress on companies and even cause them to crumble — especially during a crisis like COVID-19.

Having Big Data & AI at the heart of their operations has allowed some companies to thrive during the COVID-19 crisis — has your company been one of those? — Image source: Shutterstock

Your competitors could be making great strides forward while you stand still or even go backwards because your company doesn’t have Big Data & AI at the heart of its strategy or operations.

Some brands have managed to thrive during the coronavirus quarantine — Big Data & AI will have allowed them to spot opportunities and anticipate challenges — Image source: Ad Age

How has your organisation been coping during the COVID-19 lockdown? Has it been able to adapt and be flexible — or have you struggled?

One problem might be that you lack the Big Data & AI internal capabilities needed to help businesses succeed in a fast-changing and uncertain world.

How eCommerce brands have used Big Data & AI to adapt

Big Data & AI insights derived from online shopping behaviours during the COVID-19 crisis have allowed brands to adapt their approaches accordingly — and some have thrived as a result. [1]

Many have used data insights as a clear guide on which digital channels to invest in and how.

Skincare and beauty brands in China were able to see that, in spite of quarantine, 70 percent of consumers spent the same amount of time or even more time than usual browsing products in this category.

They were also able to see that content featuring Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) created the most engagement. [2]

Brands therefore strengthened their digital presence and stepped up investment in social media and quality Product eContent, such as livestream video featuring KOLs.

Perfect Diary moved its offline make-up experts online, so that shoppers could engage with them. Kan’s and One leaf invested in social commerce and provided shoppers with access to 4,000 online beauty assistants through WeChat.

Skincare and beauty product brands have used Big Data & AI to pinpoint online shopper behaviours and successfully respond to them during COVID-19 — Image source: Perfect Diary

The result?

eCommerce and social generated a 15–30 percentage-point incremental share of purchases across the skincare and beauty brand categories in China.

Another key lesson?

Brands without the necessary internal data capabilities at their disposal might have made the mistake of thinking that online browsing and spending in these categories was likely to lessen during the COVID-19 crisis.

They might therefore have scaled back their digital spending, thereby missing out on an incredible brand reach and sales opportunity.

Learn H.O.W. to gain a competitive advantage through Big Data & AI

Big Data & AI improve decision-making in a time of crisis because data can give you intelligence about how consumers, markets and even governments are behaving.

Data can help you see, for instance, why and how you should make changes to your supply chain management in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Or what you need to do from a stock and replenishment optimisation and demand planning perspective.

They will also give you a clear picture about what your competitors are doing, and how they are adapting. What new trends are evolving that your brand could use to create a competitive advantage?

One problem we regularly come across is that many business leaders just don’t know where to start with Big Data & AI. Although many business leaders have introduced Big Data into their operations, very few know how to use it effectively.

Our Big Data & AI Online Capability Building webinar will help solve this problem.

This action-oriented capability building gives business leaders and their teams the practical Big Data & AI skills, tools and knowledge to create efficiencies, improve processes and maximise profit in this era of digital transformation.

In conclusion — Big Data & AI give you the ability to thrive

The ability to very quickly adapt and innovate are crucial at a time of crisis.

Big Data & AI will give you the ability to rapidly create new products and services; track and take advantage of consumer behaviours and trends; anticipate problems and spot opportunities; and see where processes can be improved or efficiencies created.

To be forewarned is to be forearmed, as the Latin proverb goes. [3] And when the next crisis inevitably comes along, you will need Big Data & AI within your armoury to thrive.

If you’d like to learn more about our Big Data & AI Online Capability Building webinar, please click here.

This article was written and created by the eBusiness Institute team.

Learn to get ahead with H.O.W.

eBusiness Institute’s H.O.W. (Hands-On Workshops and Webinars) online Capability Building programs are designed to allow your company to fly solo and invent its own tomorrow.

We want to equip each function of your organisation with the practical skills and learnings required to succeed in a fast-changing world.

Our Capability Building programs rely on a fundamental motto: it’s not just what they learn, but H.O.W. they learn it.

From ‘Big Data & AI’ to our ‘Mastering Online Retailing’ series, contact us to find out more about the wide range of highly practical H.O.W. online Capability Building courses that will give your company what it needs to create efficiencies, improve processes and maximise profit.

Sources

[1] https://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/12-brands-are-emerging-healthier-coronavirus/2242621

[2] https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/cautiously-optimistic-chinese-consumer-behavior-post-covid-19

[3] https://www.dictionary.com/browse/forewarned-is-forearmed