You may have noticed that OAL's logo is a crystal ball and maybe you have already made the link between predictive analytics and fortune telling.  The icon of the crystal ball is OAL's way of putting the power of predictive analytics into perspective.  If we compare fortune telling and predictive analytics we can see that there are similarities.  Let's look at what a fortune teller does...

She looks at the customer coming into her salon and starts to assess and gather information about the person: what they are wearing; whether they look worried; are they well groomed? Is this person wearing a wedding ring?

In other words there is a lot of data that is gathered when the customer walks in to see the fortune teller. Next she consults her tools of divination (crystal balls, cards etc) and uses these tools to work with the customer, still collecting data about the customer's reactions and getting feedback that helps her adjust her forecasts. Finally, the fortune teller says what might happen to this customer in the future. Not what will happen, but what might. And, amazingly, she is right often enough that you wonder how she did it. You wonder what secret magic her cards possess.

It is the same with predictive analytics: we look at your data; we work with specialised software tools and we work with you, the client. Then we help you understand what might happen in the future: who your best customers probably are; what TV programs they probably want to watch; which marketing offers they are likely to respond to. And, just like with the fortune teller, you will be surprised by how often we get it right. However, just as you understand that the fortune teller is not always right, we want you to know that predictive analytics is not 100% accurate either. This is important to note.  There isn't a software tool that can tell you for definite what your customers will do next, but using your data to apply predictive analytics is always smarter than just guessing - which is essentially what you're doing when you don't include data in your decision making.