Here’s a crystal ball to know exactly what each and every one of your customers are saying about your business and/or product(s).
Just kidding, it’s data extraction technology, not magic.
When it comes to aggregating a large scale data set, we already know that web scraping tools are the favored option. Sentiment analysis tools can then be applied to formulate actionable insights. Even with a large set of unstructured data, one could use a script to quantify sentiment on a numeric scale. Using certain emotive keywords, a scale could be used to represent how your customers feel from 1 (being absolutely repulsed) to 10 (being head over heels).
Brand Analysis
Reputation is everything. With extensive press and reviews at our fingertips 24/7, the old saying that any press is good press may be losing its value in holding true. Companies are taking increasing actions to boost public perception in this socially accelerated world. With sentiment data, business intelligence (BI) teams can have a clearer view of the consumer sentiment landscape. This would aid greatly in planning and campaigning for PR, advertising, pricing, promotions, etc. Another application would be to capitalize on positive publicity and work to mitigate negative sentiments. These applications are, of course, only approachable with a large enough data set harvested from multiple channels.
Having the right data is like having a powerful flashlight in an otherwise pitch dark landscape. Naturally, web scrapers are like the batteries that power said flashlight.
Product Monitoring
The way a company’s product or service is portrayed in news articles, social media, forums and review platforms directly impacts its bottom line. Through scraping targeted qualitative data from the various sources, businesses can conduct a deep-dive analysis into why their product is performing well - or isn’t. There are numerous uses for the sentiment data gathered about the product. Some examples are aspect-based text analysis, social media monitoring, consumer demand and more. This analysis can then be used to create actionable insights into improving the product’s performance. This data can then be used to supplement the company’s business model and promotional or pricing strategy. Furthermore, said analysis could also be performed on competing substitute products. For instance, getting reviews on which features of the competitor’s product is being well received by consumers. This could provide insights on your competitors’ movement and allude to their future plans.
Investment Decision Making
Markets move in tandem with investor sentiments. Research on the financial industry has shown that news articles, social media opinions, and herd mentality directly impacts stock prices. It has even been debated that sentiment signals are as effective or more effective than price momentum in real-time.
With traditional data so easily available in this day and age, firms can differentiate themselves by incorporating sentiment data into their decision making. Sentiment analysis could be used in tandem with fundamental and technical analysis to predict stock movement. This could be useful for price movements that typically encompass a lot of ‘noise’.
Firms are dependent on timely news analyses; already dedicating resources to monitoring news and content. Web scraping and hence, Proxycurl, could provide a streamlined solution to monitoring and aggregating stories pertaining to whichever industry, stock or asset class the firm is focusing on. Proxycurl could aid in collating the sheer volume of data that pertains to public opinion. For instance, voter polls or website traffic.
Anticipate Consumer Preferences
Many companies have been able to capitalize on shifts in consumer preference over the past years. For instance, food trends that lead to a spike in demand for acai, salted-egg flavors or gluten-free products.
As with all trends and product life cycles, it is not unreasonable to conclude that product sales and hence revenue could one day reach a mature or declining stage. Thus, it is important for the company to actively monitor whichever trend and consider how the condition of its playing field will affect its bottom line. Furthermore, trend analysis could help in determining whether or not to go forward and invest in product innovation, such as a new flavor. Assessing a large volume of consumer data could help to strategically time such releases, thereby mitigating the risk of poor reception from its target audience. Proxycurl can address the above risks and provide an efficient and minimal-effort solution to the above concerns.
Conclusion
Of course, the above list is far from exhaustive. Sentiment analysis can be applied in a plethora of ways, you just have to be creative enough to think of it.
So.. Ready to get started with your sentiment analysis project? Chat with us and get a free consultation!
Good luck!