Data and analytics opportunities in the flemish manufacturing industry

Abstract

Viktorious Data Solutions is a starting IT consulting firm created by the author of this work, Viktor De Ridder. The company aims at providing data and analytics (D&A) consulting services for manufacturers in Belgium. In earlier stages, Viktorious Data Solutions wants to offer specific niche services to Belgian manufacturing clients. Afterward, the company wants to grow by both acquiring new clients and expanding the services offered to current clients beyond the original niche service. Before the niche service that Viktorious will offer can be determined, the D&A segment in which Viktorious wants to start and grow needs to be determined. This work investigates what D&A consulting services for the Belgian manufacturing market are most in-demand and what services offer the most opportunities for a starting consultancy firm. The demand is gauged using different Google Ads campaigns for each of the D&A service segments. The results of the campaigns are compared to determine in which service segment the opportunities lie. This work continues with analyzing the results of the most successful campaign and gains (preliminary) insights into important keywords, niche opportunities, and search behavior of the target audience. The search behavior shows the importance of compatibility with types of devices (such as mobile and desktop) for the website and future ads, as well as the time and day of the week where Belgian manufacturers spent time searching on the internet.