Big data

Big data is great if in fact you have lots of data. Most of us don’t have enough data to take advantage of advanced recommendation analytics. There are some simple things that can be done.

Knowing your customers is key to serving your customers. Direct user input may be the best first step.

Consider this important lesson that Amazon learned.

Advanced recommendation engines are great for big companies with product diversity and large data sets, but these same engines will almost always overreach when used by smaller businesses. If you think a recommendation engine will enhance your unique selling proposition, it’s probably best to keep things simple by:

Not overwhelming the user, and offering only a few high quality suggestions

Offering  suggestions only when statistically significant results are available

Using simpler algorithms, possibly manually coded, with tried and true systems like regression analysis 

Considering the use of direct user input

via How Amazon Increased Sales 29% Using One Important New Technology | @AskJamieTurner.