CASE STUDY

WHAT CAN BUSINESSES LEARN FROM

TEXT MINING?

Students:
Professor: Amra Gracic
Jasna Hivziefendic Eldar Softic
INTRODUCTION

What is text mining?

Text mining is the discovery of patterns and relationships from large sets of unstructured data-the kind of
data we generate in e-mails, phone conversations, blog postings, online customer surveys, and tweets.
Consumers today are more than just consumers, they have more ways to collaborate, share information,
and influence the opinions of their friends and peers, and the data they create in doing so have significant
value to businesses. Unlike structured data, which are generated from events such as completing a
purchase transaction, unstructured data have no distinct form. Anyway, managers believe such data may
offer unique insights into customer behavior and attitudes that were much more difficult to determine
years ago.
The mobile digital platform has amplified the explosion in digital information, with hundreds of millions
of people calling, texting, searching, “apping” (using applications), buying goods, and writing billions of
e-mails on the go.
1. What challenges does the increase in unstructured data present for businesses?
Text mining enables many companies to respond to their customers satisfaction surveys, and
web mining enables many web search engines to facilitate collecting data that people need to
be more profitable. Now, a huge amount of unstructured data is distributed by these systems.
With large amounts of data being received it is extremely time intensive to analyze the
information and make time appropriate decisions once that feedback has been organized.
2. How does text- mining improve decision-making?
Text-mining software analyzes data in rapid time. It presents that information in an
organized manner which gives the end user the necessary feedback to make timely
decisions. This type of text searching technology “automatically identifies facts,
opinions, request, trends, and trouble spots from unstructured text”. When timely
decisions are made customer service is improved and that creates more profit.
3. What kinds of companies are most likely to benefit from text mining
software? Explain your answer.
In the past, only government and large companies tend to use text mining
system but now, text mining system can be directed towards small businesses.
Restaurants, hotels, supermarkets etc. are applying the system and able to
make a decision as well as earn profits. Every company is able to use both
structured data and unstructured data. Above all, internet search engines like
Google and Yahoo are doing good business because they used AdWord and
AdSence which is efficient kind of advertising system of web mining.
4. In what ways could text mining potentially lead to the erosion of personal
information privacy? Explain.
It already is eroding personal information. Anyone who uses computer
technology is on the grid to be followed. Government agencies are using text
mining to see patterns in a person communication with others to aid in profiling
for illegal activity. Anytime we log on to the internet our information requests are
being monitored by someone.