Over at Small Biz Trends, Megan Totka reflects on the utility of what she refers to as "big data."  Totka describes big data like so:

The term “big data” covers a lot of ground. Data is collected from every action that’s performed on an Internet-connected network—sending an email or tweet, posting to Facebook or a blog, commenting or rating, updating a profile, shopping online, using a cell phone or tablet, even swiping a credit card at a physical store. Every action generates a digital footprint that’s stored somewhere in the ether.

She identifies social media, CRM & customer service data as the easiest ways to get started with this information.  These are certainly important first steps.  The best conversation might come from her concluding question:  "How can your small business take advantage of big data?"  Click through to her article and maybe we'll see some answers in the comments.