How Korean Startups Can Use Big Data in Korea to Improve Sales

Koreans businesses are starting to utilize big data in Korea. The use of big data for corporations has been on the rise in Korea. Not only has Samsung, LG, and the other big corporations taken notice but so have the up and coming Korean Tech Startups. Technology has advanced so far just in the last 5 years that companies now have information that was unimaginable.

Big corporations and small startups in America have taken advantage of this information. Now it is time for Korea to use this information to make the right decisions for their company. Studies by South Korea’s National Information Society Agency, have shown that only 5% of Korean startups implement big data into their business. That is 6 times less than global startups.

Why Big Data in Korea is so Important

Big data is crucial to understanding your customers and learning how to serve them best. It is being commoditized faster than we know it. In 2019, we have gathered more data than all the years of human history combined. The same will be said for 2020. The more amazing part is that it is estimated that over 80% of that data is never utilized. It is just stored…waiting to be used. Therefore there is a great opportunity for Korean startups to find new creative ways to use this data.

Information gathering takes a lot of time and technical skills. Most Korean startups don’t have both. Others say that they feel no real business need for using big data and do not see the value in it. However, for big companies like Samsung or even Coupang, they see a lot of benefits in big data. They have the resources to dedicate a team for data analysis. They understand the importance of Big Data. Korean startups need to understand as well.

Coupang invests in Big Data

Coupang has been spending a lot of time and money on logistics to offer the best delivery service for its e-commerce platform. Big data is vital in creating the best solution to logistics problems. Samsung also has been focusing on data analysis. Many years ago they bought San Francisco based startup Joyent, which is a cloud computing company. With their computing power and remote servers have helped Samsung’s efforts to increase intelligence and personalization in their devices.

Big Data in Korea for 2020

Now in 2020 big data is no longer a luxury but a requirement even for startups if they want to compete. It can simply be studying market trends and coming up with the right business strategies. Numbers don’t lie and as technology continues to grow so does the technology that is required to crunch the numbers. Big Data solutions have gotten cheaper each year and could soon become automated. Yes, by 2021 you won’t need to hire a data analyst, but rather implement an automated system that studies the numbers 24/7. This would mean 24/7 market trend reports that can lead to improving their products or services.

It is mostly about finding the key customers and then finding what they want. What makes them buy certain products and services is something that is very valuable for businesses. Then once you get the customer, the data can be used to find out what makes them stay and what makes them leave. This can overall improve customer satisfaction and increase sales. Market trends tend to change frequently which is why it is important to always be crunching the numbers. Therefore data can help startups in Korea make well-informed decisions that are relevant to the market.

Tips to Help Korean Startups

Use Naver Trends

Naver Trends is a great tool just like Google Trends. You will need to know how to read and write Korean in order to use this but it is a great place to find a focused idea of the keywords that are applicable to your business. Since Naver is South Korea’s biggest search engine, it is important to have a tool to analyze seasonal or event-based traffic data of certain keywords. This can go a long way in improving SEO on Naver and doing marketing campaigns.

Hiring a Data Scientist

True Data Scientists are expensive. Therefore a tip might be to hire someone that is great with research, numbers, and doing experiments. You can even hire a part-time data scientist or an intern focused on carrying out data science tasks. There are many sites like Udemy that offer courses in regards to data science. Have them spend around 40 hours learning the fundamentals of data science and have them explain it to the team. That should be enough to create your own personal data science team.