Services such as Swipely are giving small companies affordable ways to track and analyze data to gain new insights about their customers. For example, restaurant owner Chad Burns uses the service to keep track of key information such as his customers' birthdays and favorite dishes. "Say it's one of our best customers and they come every Saturday night and they love the salmon dish," he said. "If I get salmon in, I can send them a note and let them know I have their favorite dish."