Qualitative data should not be overlooked.

Qualitative data describes the characteristics of a thing. In our case it would be of products or services.

For example a piece of furniture made of wood...

Years from now wood won't carry the same value. There are new materials that are being developed that are environmentally safe and considerate.

Cows milk, characterized by the fact that the milk comes from cows rather than a plant.

Who would have thought that milk juggernauts would go bankrupt recently? They may not have used predictive models to detect the rise of plant milk.

Prediction models should factor in qualitative data and how the characteristics of a product or service may be disrupted over the years.

If the milk industry just focused on statistical/performance data it is one of the reasons regarding their decline. Rather than what makes the product.

If some of those companies used data that defined the growth of plant based milk just as Netflix used data to adjust to the disruption of the DVD age caused by Amazon Unbox.

Maybe they would have survived.

What will the value of your products and services be based on qualitative data 5-10 years from now?