What Being “Data Rich” Means For Your Business
Today, every big company’s busy talking about data. “We need data, we need data, we need data,” they say. “Data, data, data.”
Well, I agree.
I’ve always thought highly of “data rich” companies like NatureBox due to the sheer number of users (i.e. data points) they possess and the potential value that could be extracted from them over time.
And when I caught word of the news around Unilever’s acquisition of Dollar Shave Club, it only validated this claim.
Actually, at the time, I was angry about the news because I knew I was right. Admittedly, I wanted to be the first one to pull off such a move.
Here’s why I was interested in Nature Box:
Their business model is really simple. It takes them 8 weeks to get a product from concept to development. They have 12 products on subscription, 6 products in food service, and 4 in big box retail.
So, every 8 weeks they cut out the lowest two performing subscription products and they slot in two new products. They then do the same with the other categories, cutting out the lowest two performing in food service and the lowest one in big box.
Over time, this allows them to predict — right when a product comes out of subscription — what type of success each product will have in big box retail.
Pretty cool, huh?
It’s insane, because they’re essentially creating an algorithm that can actually predict the success of their products.
Do you see how valuable that is?
It allows NatureBox to go to market and say, “Here we are. We’re data rich, and (through our algorithm) we can tell you the exact likelihood that this product is going to reach the numbers we projected.”
They’re coming to the table data rich while the rest of the market is still data starved. And the interesting thing about that is: the entire ecosystem was built around companies not being able to own that level of data.
The retailers don’t want to give you data. Facebook and Google don’t want to give you data. But the bottom line is: big, old school manufacturers need to (and are going to) figure out how to become data rich in the way NatureBox and Dollar Shave Club are.
They’re going to get data, whether anyone likes it or not.
And the people who are really going to win this game are those who position themselves to help companies get that data. It’ll be those who believe they’re going to build a new ecosystem, because what’s at stake here is too large.
Big manufacturers are going to get data. They have no choice. Right now they’re data starved and the new manufacturers of this generation are data rich.
When it comes to becoming data rich, there are really 3 key takeaways:
- Big retailers need to figure out how to get data in new ways
- They need to destroy the ecosystem keeping them away from data
- The companies who can get and own data are the ones who will win
That’s what every modern organization looks like, no matter what space they’re in.
And those companies that can pivot themselves and deliver that service for brands (making them data rich) are the ones who are going to get the meetings, close the deals, and work with big brands moving forward.
Agree? Disagree? TXT ME: (646) 759–1837 and let’s talk about it!
For my full thoughts on data rich vs. data starved companies, watch this video:
