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London: A data-driven business hub

Luca Pagano, CEO of BeMyEye, discusses the value that data-driven businesses are bringing to the UK.

London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, recently named entrepreneur Rajesh Agrawal as his deputy for business and enterprise, and commented that London’s “openness to talent and enterprise must not change” in light of Brexit. The city continues to provide access to world class capital and talent, and if this mind-set stays the same, there’s no reason why London’s success should be dampened by the referendum result.

This talent and capital continues to produce exciting, forward-thinking businesses, including Deliveroo and Funding Circle. Now, London is championing companies that enable a strategic, data-led approach. The city is more advanced than any other in using data.

Organisations based in London have been one step ahead of other markets in harnessing the advantages of information to change their approach and grow, allowing them to blossom into successful global companies.

The likes of Dunhumby and AIMIA are great examples of businesses that innovated in the old world of commerce. Using data and science, these brands were able to help businesses understand their customers and increase loyalty, and are still doing so today.

Data is the key to any successful businesses decision. W. Edwards Deming perhaps said it best when he stated, “without data, you are just another person with an opinion”.

The power of the crowd

Whilst many forward-thinking organisations are now using technology to gain valuable insights in order to build new products or target new audiences, there are also businesses disrupting the way these data insights are collected.

The power of “the crowd” is being harnessed to provide access to real world data from specific locations with an unprecedented level of reliability, precision and speed.

The old ways of gathering data from physical locations, where sales teams had to travel to specific places, just doesn’t cut it in today’s fast moving business environment.

With 76% of UK adults owning a smartphone, there are now more advanced ways of getting the information they need such as price comparisons, presence of promotional material or shelf layout.

The best businesses are those that adapt quickly and respond to changing circumstances and markets with efficiency and accuracy; harnessing and capitalising on data quickly is essential and this is now possible in an offline environment as well courtesy of advancements in crowdsourcing technology.

Another issue with old world methods is that data gathered isn’t detailed or granular enough. It’s expensive, time consuming and impractical for the sales team to visit thousands of locations, which often means that only a sample of data can be taken.

In contrast, using the crowd allows for detailed information to be tracked back to the individual store level allowing census activities in a fast and affordable way.

Capitalising on eyes on the ground

The best innovations leverage an existing asset in a new and reliable way, and just like Uber uses cars and Airbnb uses homes, businesses have the power to utilise the crowd’s talent, time and location to gain a large amount of information that they haven’t previously been able to get, faster than ever.

Global businesses such as MSC Cruises are already using the crowd to completely overhaul their marketing strategy, with hugely beneficial results.

For example, the cruise company is auditing the presence of their marketing materials in their travel agency partners’ windows on the high street. The crowd is allowing them to check that their brand is being presented correctly, whilst enabling budget efficiency. With insights like these available for the first time, London and the rest of the UK will benefit if they follow suit and harness the power of the crowd for the data-driven approach they are already championing.

Whether you need to task individuals with checking competitor’s pricing strategies for your products in store, or assessing whether your advertising is being displayed correctly through in-store promotions, the crowd can deliver fast and effective results to support critical business decisions. One thing London certainly isn’t short of is forward-thinking businesses, and a high population – paired together, companies here have the key to success.

What is clear is that new Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has a real opportunity on his hands to harness the crowdsourcing potential of the city of London to create a better life for its residents. Imagine the power of the crowd being used to carry out all sort of life-enriching tasks such as ensuring the cleanliness of London’s public toilets, reporting and documenting on damaged roads or ensuring that the city’s parking meters are all in order.

A new crowdsourced city awaits.

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