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

Korean businesses are starting to utilize big data in Korea more than ever before. Now, collecting, storing, and most importantly, analyzing data has become standard practice for most corporations in Korea. Not only has Samsung, LG, and the other big corporations taken notice but so have the up-and-coming Korean Tech Startups. This is because digital marketing today has changed a lot in less than a decade. Technology has advanced so far just in the last 5 years that companies now have information that was unimaginable thanks to big data.

Big corporations and small startups in America have already taken advantage of this new 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. Big data has proven to increase profits for companies. A recent survey shows the use of big data has increased profits by 8-10%.

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 2021, we gathered more data than all the years of human history combined. The same will be said for 2022. 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. The key to consuming data in an effective way is to clearly stipulate what you are trying to accomplish and how you’ll define success.

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, big companies like Samsung or even Coupang, 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. This is why even if startups in Korea might not use data now, they will need it in the future as their company grows. With the data, collected startups can start to think about personalization to make their product or service more attractive for their customers. This can’t be done in the early stage, therefore just collecting and storing the data should be the startups’ focus.

Big Data in Korea Helped Fight COVID-19

Before the omicron outbreak in South Korea which saw over 300,000 cases a day, South Korea got a lot of recognition from around the world in 2020/2021 for being able to flatten the curve of the coronavirus. The major reason for this was the use of healthcare big data. Korea was able to respond quickly and efficiently because the NHIS (National Health Insurance Service) already had a massive amount of health data on their citizens. This was in the form of health insurance data as well as administrative data. This information is now being used to figure out who should get the COVID-19 vaccines first. When you add this form of big data to Korea’s already strong IT-based infrastructure and you are able to get the most accurate data in regards to COVID.

Big Data to Increase Advertising Sales 

For startups in Korea, once you are ready to use the data, the best place to start is to predict which products your consumers are likely to buy. Amazon is great at this by showing your recommended products you are actually interested in. Amazon is using big data to find that perfect recommendation. What data points does Amazon use? Simple. They have data on what customers buy, how they rate products, and what consumers with similar buying habits are buying.

Knowing your customer’s buying patterns is key when advertising to them. Data can analyze every action your visitor has made on your landing page. Hotjar is a great wite to help you see your visitor’s behavior. You will know the average time spent on your site and where their attention goes to on your site. You will see the customer’s keystrokes and even how they move their mouse. With this data, you will be able to give your customers what they want. These are just a few examples of how big data can be used to market to your customers.

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. Their computing power and remote servers have helped Samsung’s efforts to increase intelligence and personalization in their devices. These big corporations in Korea have also been aggressive in hiring data scientists. Data scientists not only have strong computational skills but also have a strong knowledge of the Korean market. Therefore these companies don’t just focus on technical skills but also look for data scientists that have solid business acumen.

Big Data in Korea for 2022 and beyond

Now in 2022 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, in 2022 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 regard 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.