How to Build a Single Customer View for Better CX
Businesses can personalize their offerings, anticipate customer needs and build lasting relationships simply by creating a single customer view.
The way companies engage with customers has drastically evolved over the years. With the rise of digital platforms, brands now have the opportunity to gain valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences.
Marketers understand just how important it is to deliver a personalized customer experience, which is why businesses must strive to create a single customer view (SCV) to understand client needs.
The State of Digital Marketing survey revealed that 50% of eCommerce businesses are offering a personalized experience.
Creating a unified customer view means consolidating all customer data into a centralized platform, breaking down data silos and leveraging advanced analytics tools to gain actionable insights.
Let us explore the importance of achieving a single customer view of the customer and the common challenges companies may face along the way.
Table of Content
- 1 What is Single Customer View (SCV): Definition
- 2 Why is Single Customer View Beneficial for Business?
- 3 Types of Data to Consider in Your Single Customer View
- 4 How to Implement a Single Customer View?
- 5 Examples of Software That Provides Single Customer View
- 6 Challenges Faced While Implementing Single Customer View
- 7 Utilize Single Customer View for Extraordinary Marketing Strategies
- 8 FAQs on Single Customer View
What is Single Customer View (SCV): Definition
The Single Customer View or SCV, is defined as a unified database that consolidates and integrates all customer-related data from various sources to create a complete profile of an individual customer.
Unified customer view provides businesses with a holistic client view, enabling them to gain insights, identify patterns and make data-driven decisions to improve customer experience as well as drive marketing effectiveness.
The key elements of SCV as follows:
- The SCV gathers customer data from multiple touchpoints, including online interactions, purchases, social media interactions, customer service interactions and more.
- Cleanse the data by removing duplicate and irrelevant records.
- Generate valuable insights through customer data analysis.
Why is Single Customer View Beneficial for Business?
Harnessing the power of personalization enhances brands marketing efforts and ultimately drives success. Below are the key benefits of single customer view and why it is essential to businesses.
1. Higher ROI on Marketing Campaigns
Businesses can tailor their messages to specific demographics with the ability to create personalized/targeted marketing campaigns using customer insights. The targeted approach leads to higher engagement and conversion rates, resulting in a higher return on investment (ROI) for marketing efforts.
2. Data-Driven Decision Making
Making informed decisions is crucial in the fast-paced digital landscape. A single customer view (SCV) provides businesses with accurate and up-to-date data, enabling them to analyze trends, identify patterns to make data-driven decisions.
3. Streamlined Operations and Efficiency
A single customer view can centralize client data, eliminating duplication and reducing manual effort. It streamlines operations and enables teams to access the information they need quickly, leading to improved productivity.
4. Better Customer Acquisition & Retention
Understanding customers on a deeper level is essential for building lasting relationships. An unified customer view can deliver highly personalized experiences. By anticipating customer needs, businesses can enhance customer satisfaction and increase retention rates.
Types of Data to Consider in Your Single Customer View
A single customer view consolidates all the data you have about your customers into one place, allowing you to gain valuable insights and tailor your marketing efforts.
Here are several types of data that you should consider including in your customer view:
1. Information of Customer Identity
SCV includes basic details such as name, address, contact information and any other unique identifiers that can help you differentiate between individual customers. It forms the foundation of your SCV and allows you to link other data points back to each customer.
2. Basic Demographic Information
Understanding the demographics of your customer base is essential for effective targeting. It can include age, gender, income level, education and other relevant characteristics. By right segmentation, you can create personalized marketing campaigns that resonate with their specific needs.
3. Customer Behavioral Data
The type of data provides insights into how your customers interact with your brand across various touchpoints. It includes information on their browsing behavior, email engagement, social media interactions and more. By analyzing the data, you can identify patterns and trends, allowing you to optimize your marketing efforts effectively.
4. Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
CRM includes data collected from customer relationship management systems, as well as data obtained through offline channels such as in-store purchases or customer service interactions. By integrating the data into your unified customer view, you can gain a holistic understanding of each customer’s interactions across various touchpoints.
5. Customer Interaction History with Reps
Businesses that have dedicated sales or customer service team, it’s essential to capture data on customer interactions. It includes notes from phone calls, emails, live chats, or in-person meetings. Understanding the context of these interactions can help you tailor your marketing messages based on the customer’s previous experiences.
6. Website and Mobile App Interaction Data
Tracking how customers interact with your website and mobile app can provide valuable insights into their preferences. It includes data on page views, time spent on each page, clicks, downloads and other similar metrics.
7. Purchase History
Tracking customers’ purchase history is essential for understanding their buying behavior and preferences. The data allows you to identify cross-selling and upselling opportunities, personalized product recommendations & deliver targeted promotions or discounts.
How to Implement a Single Customer View?
A single customer view is a comprehensive profile of an individual customer that consolidates data from multiple sources into one centralized location.
1. Collect Data from Multiple Sources
Creating a complete view of your customers requires gathering data from all touchpoints. It includes customer interactions across your website, social media platforms, emails, customer service interactions, offline purchases and more.
Utilize data collection tools, customer relationship management (CRM) systems and integrate with other relevant platforms to ensure comprehensive data gathering.
- Identify relevant data sources: The data sources should be relevant to your business goals and objectives. It could include CRM systems, email marketing platforms, social media analytics, website analytics and more.
- Define data collection methods: Determine how you will collect data from each source. It can involve using APIs, importing data files, or utilizing web scraping techniques.
- Centralize data management: Use a centralized data management system or a data warehouse to store and organize all collected data. It will be easier to access and analyze the data later on.
2. Cleanse and Validate Data
Data cleansing is an essential step to ensure accuracy and reliability within your SCV.
Remove duplicate or incomplete records, correct errors and validate the integrity of the data. It will help prevent inaccuracies in your customer profiles, ensuring a more accurate representation.
- Remove duplicate entries: Duplicate data can lead to inconsistencies. Implement data cleansing techniques to remove duplicate entries from your dataset.
- Standardize data formats: Establish a consistent format for data attributes such as names, addresses or dates. It will help prevent errors during data integration and analysis.
- Validate data accuracy: Regularly validate the accuracy of your data by comparing it to reliable sources. It will ensure that your data remains reliable and trustworthy.
3. Establish a Unique Identifier
Assign unique identifiers, such as customer IDs or email addresses, to each customer profile. It will help in accurately linking and consolidating customer data across various sources. By having a unique identifier, you can easily track and update customer information, even if they interact with your business through different channels.
- Assign unique keys: The unique identifier or key should be persistent, even if the data is updated or modified in the future. The key will allow you to merge and link data from different sources accurately.
- Ensure data consistency: Ensure that the same entity is represented consistently across all datasets. For example, a customer’s name should be spelled the same way in all data sources, ensuring accurate data integration.
4. Integrate Data Sources
Integrate the collected data from different sources into a centralized database or data management platform (DMP). It will allow you to consolidate all customer information into a single unified view.
Ensure that the integration process is seamless and ongoing, so that new data can be integrated into the SCV in real-time.
- Determine data relationships: Identify the relationships between different data sources. It will help you create a comprehensive and unified view of your data.
- Use data integration tools: Invest in data integration tools and platforms that simplify the process of merging data from different sources. It can automate data cleansing, mapping, transformation processes, saving time and reducing the risk of errors.
- Regularly update integrated data: Ensure that your integrated data is regularly updated to reflect any changes or updates in the original data sources. It will ensure the accuracy and relevancy of your integrated dataset over time.
5. Implement Data Governance and Security Measures
Protecting customer data is crucial for maintaining trust and complying with regulations.
Leverage a robust data governance and security measures to safeguard the single customer view. It includes ensuring data privacy, restricting access based on roles and conducting periodic data audits.
- Create a data governance policy: Develop a comprehensive data governance policy that outlines the rules, responsibilities and processes for handling data.
- Ensure data compliance: Stay updated with the latest data protection regulations and ensure that your digital marketing practices comply with them.
6. Utilize Customer Analytics Tools
Deploy data analytics tools to extract meaningful insights. Analyze customer behavior patterns, preferences as well as purchase history to identify trends, segment your audience and tailor your marketing efforts.
These insights can help drive personalized marketing campaigns and improve customer experiences.
- Understand customer behavior: Deploy customer analytics tools to gain insights into customer behavior patterns. Analyze customer browsing habits, purchase history and preferences to understand their needs better.
- Segment your audience: Segment your audience based on different demographics, interests, or purchase behavior. Customer analytics tools allow you to create customer segments with similar characteristics, enabling you to tailor marketing messages.
- Monitor and analyze campaign performance: Regularly monitor the performance of your marketing campaigns by using customer analytics tools. Track metrics such as click-through rates, conversion rates and engagement rates to evaluate the success of your campaigns.
7. Continuously Update and Refresh Data
Building a Single Customer View (SCV) is an ongoing process.
Customer data is dynamic and it is important to continuously update the data to ensure accuracy. Regularly validate the data and integrate any new sources or touchpoints that may arise.
- Utilize automation tools: Leverage automation tools to streamline data update processes. Automation can help in syncing and integrating data from different sources, ensuring that the information is consistently updated across platforms.
- Implement real-time data capture: Incorporate mechanisms to capture data in real-time whenever possible. It could include implementing feedback forms, customer surveys, or integrating analytics tools that provide real-time data insights.
- Embrace data enrichment: Enriching your existing data with additional details can provide a deeper understanding of your customers.
Examples of Software That Provides Single Customer View
Choosing the right software gives brands a competitive edge. Here are some examples of software that provide Single Customer View:
1. Omni24
Omni24 is a powerful platform that enables businesses to gain a complete view of their customers by integrating data from various sources. It allows organizations to collect data from multiple touchpoints such as sales, marketing and customer service then consolidate it into a single profile.
Businesses can track customer interactions, preferences and behaviors to deliver personalized experiences across different channels.
Key features:
- Real-time updates: The software updates customer profiles in real-time, allowing businesses to react to customer behavior and preferences immediately.
- Marketing automation: Integration with marketing automation tools allows businesses to automate personalized marketing campaigns based on customer data. It saves time and ensures relevant messaging across different channels.
- Scalability: Handles large volumes of data that grows with the business. It ensures that it can accommodate future growth and increasing data complexity.
Pricing:
They offer a range of plans from a basic free plan to Enterprise level plans starting at $29/month. Higher tier plans include additional features such as access analytics, reporting and integrations into many leading platforms like Salesforce, Zapier, HubSpot etc., for SMBs.
2. Veemo
Veemo is a comprehensive customer data platform that helps businesses create a unified profile of their customers. It integrates data from various sources, such as CRM systems, websites, apps and offline interactions, to create a holistic view of each customer.
The platform offers advanced analytics capabilities and AI-powered insights to enable businesses to deliver personalized experiences at scale.
Key features:
- Data cleansing and deduplication: The software has built-in tools to clean and remove duplicates from the data. It ensures that the customer profile is accurate and up-to-date.
- Advanced analytics: Offers advanced analytics capabilities to uncover trends, patterns, and insights from the customer data. It allows businesses to make data-driven decisions and optimize their marketing strategies.
Pricing:
There are three pricing tiers based on the number of staff users, so companies can choose whichever works best for them – ranging from $19-299/month depending on the size of your business. Additional add-ons are included in a few packages at different costs, if necessary.
3. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights is a customer data platform that allows businesses to bring together data from different sources, including sales, marketing and customer service. It provides a unified and real-time view of each customer.
Key features: Businesses to analyze customer behavior, identify patterns and segment their audience for targeted marketing campaigns. The platform also offers AI capabilities to generate insights and predictions.
4. Segment
Segment is a customer data platform that enables businesses to collect, clean and centralize data from various sources. It provides a single customer view by combining data from websites, mobile apps, CRMs and other systems.
Key features: Segment offers data integration and management tools that allow businesses to create a unified profile for each customer as well as deliver personalized marketing campaigns.
Challenges Faced While Implementing Single Customer View
Like any technological implementation, there are challenges that need to be addressed for a successful SCV implementation.
Let’s look into the challenges faced while implementing SCV.
1. Data Quality and Consistency
Inconsistencies and inaccuracies in customer data can hinder the successful implementation of an SCV. Misspellings, duplicate entries and outdated information can skew the view as well as lead to incorrect insights.
Solution:
- Regularly clean and validate your data to remove errors.
Implement data validation rules and automated processes to ensure data accuracy at the point of entry. - Invest in data enrichment tools that can update and enhance your customer records.
2. Technology Integration
Integrating various systems and technologies to create a unified view can be a complex task. Legacy systems may not be compatible with modern solutions, creating compatibility issues.
Solution:
- Evaluate your existing technology infrastructure and identify gaps that require integration.
Invest in flexible and scalable software solutions that can efficiently integrate with your current systems. - Collaborate with IT teams to develop robust data integration processes and ensure seamless data flow between platforms.
3. System Complexity and Scalability
As businesses grow, the complexity and scalability of their SCV systems increase. Scaling up the infrastructure and ensuring smooth system performance can be challenging.
Solution:
- Choose a flexible and scalable SCV solution that can accommodate future growth.
- Regularly monitor system performance, optimize processes and invest in advanced technologies to handle increasing data volumes.
4. Return on Investment (ROI)
Implementing an SCV can be a significant investment in terms of time, resources and technology. Demonstrating the ROI of the implementation can be challenging, especially in the short term.
Solution:
Proper planning, setting clear goals and tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) are essential to measure the success of the value of the SCV.
Utilize Single Customer View for Extraordinary Marketing Strategies
An unified customer view is a comprehensive, unified database that combines data from various sources to create a holistic view of each customer. Leveraging (SCV), can gain valuable insights into their customers’ preferences, behaviors and purchase history.
The information can then be used to develop targeted marketing strategies that effectively engage customers and drive conversions. Businesses can unlock the full potential of their data, leading to increased customer satisfaction, loyalty and ultimately, business success.
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FAQs on Single Customer View
1. What is the single view of the customer tools?
Single customer view tools are software or systems that allow businesses to consolidate and organize customer data from various sources into a centralized database. It provides a holistic and comprehensive view of each customer by merging as well as reconciling data from different touchpoints.
2. How do I create a single customer view?
Creating a single customer view requires a careful and systematic approach.
You need to identify all the data sources where customer information is stored, such as CRM systems, email databases, social media platforms and transaction records.
Then,matching customer records across different systems.
The consolidated data should be cleaned, validated and regularly updated to ensure accuracy.
3. Why is it important to implement a single customer view?
Implementing a single customer view can bring numerous benefits to your business. It allows you to gain a deeper understanding of your customers’ behaviors, preferences and needs. With this knowledge, you can personalize marketing campaigns, improve customer service and optimize product development. It also helps in identifying cross-selling or upselling opportunities, reducing duplicate efforts and enhancing overall operational efficiency.
4. What types of data does SCV use?
SCV relies on both structured and unstructured data. Structured data includes customer demographics, purchase history, contact details and transactional information. Unstructured data comprises customer interactions, social media comments, email correspondence and online reviews. The combination of both types of data provides a more holistic and accurate view of the customer.
5. What’s the difference between a single customer view, a unified customer view, and a 360-degree view?
While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, they have slightly different meanings.
- A single customer view primarily focuses on consolidating and organizing customer data from multiple sources.
- A unified customer view takes it a step further by integrating data across various touchpoints and channels to create a consistent as well as seamless customer experience.
- A 360-degree view emphasizes the comprehensive understanding of a customer by incorporating not only their data but also their interactions, transactions and touchpoints throughout their entire customer journey.
