Customer data consolidation: the foundation for building more valuable customer relationships
OTOi, Technology Team | One To One Interactive
July 30, 2002
Managing customer relationships has come a long way in the last
several years. Customer history is tracked more closely and is
interpreted to help predict future behavior; preferences, ranging
from product preferences to personal interests, are collected; and
messages and offers relevant to an individual customer's needs are
delivered in a targeted fashion. While there has been much progress
in this area, customer expectations have been raised as a result.
To meet rising customer expectations, organizations must continue
to manage their customer information efficiently and look for ways
to effectively use it to meet and exceed customer expectations.
With some companies providing higher levels of personalized
service, customers now expect that level of service from every
company with which they interact. It is important to note that
customer expectations are not set within the confines of one
industry. If a customer receives personalized service from their
bank, they'll notice if their phone company falls short.
In order to meet the increasing expectations of their
customers, marketers need to ensure that the information that is
feeding their marketing efforts is accurate and complete. This
means that all customer information that exists within the
organization must be made available and leveraged when interacting
with a customer.
Companies need to show customers that they are sharing the
information gathered at each point of contact with the rest of the
organization in order to improve the level of service. Often, in
large organizations, this information sharing falls apart between
business units or between business areas. However, customers view
themselves as having developed a relationship with an
organization's brand. They do not draw a distinction between
building a relationship with one business unit, but not another.
Therefore, it is necessary for organizations to consolidate their
customer information so that they know who their existing customers
are, what products or services they use, and when they come in
contact with company representatives. For instance, a sales rep
should know that one of his customers recently called for product
support, as well as how the issue was internally resolved.
So, how does a Fortune 500 organization with thousands of
employees and disparate business units begin to address the issue
of fragmented customer information?
It is a large undertaking, to be sure. However, an
incremental approach can cover a great deal of ground despite the
complexities of working in such an environment. Developing a plan
that approaches the task as a series of steps that begin small and
build upon each other to gain momentum will limit risk and increase
the chance for success.
A good starting point is to find out what customer
information exists within the organization. Performing an audit
across all business units and channels will determine what data
exists within the enterprise. This is simply a fact-finding
mission. Areas to focus on include what customer information is
collected, where it is stored, who has access to it, and how it is
used. This knowledge will provide an understanding of the current
state, and can feed the development of a strategy for moving
forward.
The findings from an audit will also allow marketers to
determine what information is available and what additional
information should be captured. Furthermore, analysis of existing
information will identify how different business units approach
customer relationships and how valuable customers are treated
compared to other customers.
With a clearer understanding of the customer base, it is
possible to begin testing how consolidated information can be used
to improve customer relationships. By starting small, such as
sharing data between only two business units, marketers can test
the backend data integration and programs that make use of the
integrated data. At this point, marketers should focus on using the
consolidated data to target the most valuable customers.
As with any marketing program, it is imperative to put
tracking metrics in place to measure the success of the initiative.
These metrics will be used to prove the value of consolidating
customer data and to gain support from other business units for
additional improvements. Many organizations conduct ongoing
customer satisfaction and attrition studies that can be leveraged
to determine return on investment (ROI) for a customer data
consolidation effort.
As success is achieved and support within the organization
grows, additional business units or customer segments can be added
to the mix. Progress should remain incremental and should be
controlled so as not to try to do too much.
As more areas within the organization participate, the
customer profile will grow in size and value. Programs can then be
designed that make use of the available information. These programs
include targeted marketing programs that cross-sell and up-sell, as
well as programs that address customer satisfaction and retention.
Consolidated information also opens the door for loyalty programs
that reward customers for building deeper relationships and using
additional products and services. In addition, better customer data
management creates opportunities to improve and coordinate customer
care and sales support — sales reps can follow up to ensure that a
customer complaint logged through a call center has been resolved.
In summary, consolidating customer data across the
organization ensures that the most value possible is extracted from
customer information collected. This value is delivered in terms of
understanding and responding to customer needs. Complete customer
information is the foundation required to build customer
relationships that will increase customer satisfaction and
retention, as well as meet customers' rising expectations.
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