4. Investment risk management. Whether you are contemplating an investment in your favorite startup, or a little-known stock on a public exchange, there is "big data" out there that can't possibly be evaluated by you without predictive analytics. Companies need the same service on partner and acquisition candidates, even vendors.
5. Customer retention with churn modeling. Every business wants to predict which customers are about to leave, and for what reasons, so they can target their retention efforts. New one-time customers may be incented to return. Without predictive targeting, a retention campaign may cost more than it gains.
6. Movie recommendations. Movies are selected, or recommended to customers, based on past reviews, related interests, or analysis of Twitter comments. On the movie production side, it's time to start doing analyses on movie scripts, based on reaction to similar movies, to predict box office revenue and cities to hit.
7. Education – guided studying for targeted learning. Every quiz show aficionado would like some guidance on which question areas need more study, and every student needs help on how to spend his limited study hours more effectively. Schools need the same analysis to provide more effective teaching media and techniques.
Political campaigning with voter persuasion modeling. I'm sure every campaign would love to know which voters will be positively persuaded by specific contacts, such as a phone call, door knock, flier, or TV ad. The rest of us would rather not be annoyed by the multiple contacts of the wrong type.
Clinical decision support systems. With costs escalating in healthcare today, it's more important than ever to determine which patients are at risk of developing certain conditions, like diabetes, asthma, heart disease, and other lifetime illnesses. Additionally, predictive analytics can help make the best medical decision at the point of care.
Insurance and mortgage underwriting. Predictive analytics will allow auto insurance companies to accurately determine a reasonable premium to cover each automobile and driver, which helps their bottom line, as well as ours. A financial entity needs the same ability to more accurately assess a borrower's ability to pay before granting a mortgage.
by Martin Zwilling, Contributor
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