Treasure Trove: Big Data Tools Put Insights at Small Businesses’ Fingertips

TL;DR

• Big data isn’t just for big businesses, and public data isn’t just for the government.
• Harnessing digital tools to access publicly available data and merge it with proprietary information is a force multiplier for small and medium-sized businesses. 
• When SMBs combine public data with business data, they can unlock insights to remain competitive in diverse markets by understanding customer needs and behavior.

Big data is getting exponentially bigger. This growth isn’t a new phenomenon. But while massive data collection and processing have captured the world’s attention over the last decade, our focus has remained mainly on how large companies harness their own data to power growth. 

Recent advances in public data dissemination by government agencies and data releases by data-driven technology companies are changing the equation. For example, the U.S. Government’s data.gov site is now home to nearly 300,000 datasets ranging from real estate sale records in Connecticut to county-level vehicle registration data in Washington State. Likewise, the Census Bureau provides open access to detailed figures on topics across more than 130 surveys and programs and hosts more than 2.5 million tables of raw data. In the private sector, tech companies like Google make thousands of datasets available, often from private companies, through their Cloud platform. 

This treasure trove of data enables research to unlock nuanced insights about subpopulations and small communities that averages previously concealed. Yet its potential remains largely untapped by small and medium-sized business (SMB) owners nationwide. For instance, a 2023 survey found that 53% of SMB owners are unaware of the insights that their own data can provide. This figure highlights the acute need for accessible data education and business analytics training for SMB owners. However, proprietary small business data only represents half of the equation. 

When businesses pair public datasets with proprietary data, the possibilities are great. Take a real estate developer trying to determine where to build short-term rental properties. The developer could cross-tabulate rental and tourism data with Census, American Community Survey (ACS), and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data on median family income, average household size, and public transit availability to determine where to locate the new developments and which features to include. When combined and analyzed, this combination of data offers unique insights into where the company should be channeling its resources.

A few platforms and services are helping businesses harness this power. CARTO Data Observatory 2.0, a Google-powered location intelligence analytics platform, allows users to combine public data from sources like ACS and the Census with “premium” privately collected data from sources like location tech company TomTom or telecom giant Vodafone. Users can also upload their datasets. Similarly, Social Explorer, a data mapping analytics startup, lets users map any list of addresses —  like customers, store locations, survey respondents, and service areas — against more than half a million variables.  

SMBs ultimately have a stake in the availability of highly detailed public data. Public and private data can help SMB owners and technology companies better understand customer behavior, study market dynamics, and mobilize support for their policy interests. 

Ethan Schenker is a Writing Intern at The RXN Group.