Chances are above average that someone at JetBlue headquarters in New York will read even this humble technology blog thanks to text analytics. Like a watchdog, analytics software scans the Internet to find keywords and phrases and then reviews the contents to see customer sentiment, competitive business intelligence and even random praise. In a thorough profile, David Stodder of Information Week details how Gaylord Hotels, JetBlue and other companies are turning to data mining tools to clearly hear what people are saying – even through the din of online messaging.
Using analytics software to mine through thousands of daily blog comments, Tweets, status updates and correlate whether opinions are positive, negative or neutral isn’t easy. The business intelligence software mines JetBlue Twitter accounts, direct emails and anywhere the jetBlue name appears to gather clues to how the company is perceived. It’s far more difficult to ascribe the reasons why – a late flight, a weather delay or a cheerful ticket agent.
It wasn’t a mystery, for example, when late January reactions were sharply critical while the airline changed its reservation system and the only way travelers could book flights for two days was in-person at an airport – phone and online bookings were shuttered and people were not happy about the inconvenience. Message traffic spiked and the companies call centers couldn’t keep pace.
A survey of data mining interest with the Information Week article found 35 percent of companies said competitive intelligence was the primary reason or pursuing these kinds of initiatives, followed by customer service (28 percent), product or reputation management (27 percent) and compliance (22 percent). And the information sources can range from customer surveys to warranty cards, online reviews or other sources. Importantly, companies can see both good and bad elements to learn what affects repeat purchases, causes defections or produces traffic to a relevant website.
Finding insights from the massive data flows of text search and social network activity requires database and content management skills but the tools to analyze these comments are declining in price and increasing in capabilities. There are ways to tap opportunities when a rival is on the ropes or respond to customer complaints and defuse issues before they get viral and influence millions of people online and in real life.
Be prepared for good news – and bad – if you go looking for these kinds of customer insights online. And it makes sense to know what you plan to do in response. Just getting the information is good, making it useful and acting on it – now that’s intelligent use of business intelligence.
