Hidden in messy text data are nuggets of insight that hold the power to transform business, marketing, and management strategies.

But what is text analysis? And how can this potential be unlocked?

When you think of analytics, you probably think of numbers. But a lot of the world’s valuable data is contained in words, such as survey responses or social media posts.

In fact, numerical data and text data are often two sides of the same coin.

Where numerical data tells you what is happening (for example, how many people said they would purchase your new product?), text data can reveal the all-important why (why do they or don’t they want to purchase the product?), and sometimes even the coveted what’s next (which product attributes should you avoid or innovate in the future?).