Enterprises are sitting on an untapped goldmine — their data — and are looking to use it to transform their businesses. Extracting this value offers many challenges but enterprises are tackling these challenges head-on with new, integrated tools that democratize data and analytics.
Companies depend on their data to answer difficult questions about their business entities for analytics purposes. But it’s a hit-or-miss game when companies lack an accurate and consistent data-driven strategy.
It is a well-known fact that customers drive revenue, but the pandemic is creating a new kind of consumer—one with evolving shopping behaviors and continuously changing preferences.
It is crucial to have a real-time view of all aspects if businesses want to continue engaging consumers effectively and efficiently. But for this to happen, adhering to the best practices of customer data management is a must.
An effective data management strategy helps tap previously untapped opportunities; it helps find which customers exist in different systems so that they’re not bombarded with multiple marketing emails due to duplicate customer records, for instance.
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But it is not an easy task unlocking the full potential of the customer data. It has heavily impacted the ability of many organizations to fuel growth and create an unprecedented customer experience. Unlocking these benefits demand more than just collecting data; it requires a sound data management system.
Overcoming Data Silos
Frequent problems with data include outdated information, duplicate entries, human mistakes, and data silos. It acts as a big blocker for decision making and ends up getting in the way of business growth.
Siloed data is usually broken data. It affects the team, customers, and value of the data and makes it difficult for all the stakeholders to achieve their customer-related goals. The good news is that there are ways to use technology to prevent it.
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Integrating different business applications is the best way to avoid data silos. Breaking down data silos and getting the different databases talking to each other will result in high-quality databases enriched by all the applications used across the organization.
Managing Customer Data
The data management strategy of an organization should be able to clearly understand prospects and customers alike. The engagement strategy should orchestrate subtle yet effective experiences for all the customers.
The first step involves managing known and anonymous customer data and the ability to enrich that data. It is impossible to deliver a best-in-class customer experience without real-time profile enrichment and robust profile management. Reliable profile management enables brands to recognize customers across all platforms and helps secure a real-time understanding of their engagement.
Putting Data to Work
No matter what kind of data exists within the organization, the ultimate goal should be- driving revenue growth. With the customer data management strategy in place, companies will be able to understand and engage with the real-time interests of customers and also take advantage of new sales opportunities as they emerge.
Warmed with this, organizations can generate a single version of the truth consisting of critical customer data and then use it to amplify their customer experience strategies. A sound strategy will not only take the CX initiatives to the next level, but it will also help handle difficult questions that may arise regarding essential business operations.
