Why a 360-degree customer view grows your business

A good product is no longer enough. You also need great (customer) service. And that service is not just provided by the customer service department, but it runs through the entire organisation: customer service, marketing, sales, finance, and so on. Each interaction can make or break your brand. It is therefore essential to have a fully integrated view of your customers. Nothing is more annoying to the customer than when your employees have no idea what they are talking about. How annoying is it to have to explain your story all over again? You can avoid this with a 360-degree customer view. But how does it help your business grow?

What is a 360-degree customer view?

Let's start by clarifying what a 360-degree customer view actually is. A 360-degree view of a customer is a collection of all customer data in one place. This includes contact information, sales, customer service interactions, and more. Ultimately, it consists of all the different interactions a customer has with your company. It is also called an integrated customer view.

Why is a customer view so important?

A good customer view is critical to business success. It enables companies to understand who their customers are, what their needs and wants are, and how best to serve them. With an integrated view of the customer, companies can tailor their marketing and sales strategies to meet the specific needs of their customers and increase customer satisfaction.

It also helps to identify new opportunities for growth and to develop innovative products and services that meet customer needs. For example, it would be silly to offer you a subscription when you already have one. But if you are offered a subscription that is in the same vein, and therefore piques your interest, you are likely open to it. Or you might be presented with a particular offer because you are a loyal customer and your interactions with the business suggest that you are very interested in that particular product.

A good example is your telephone subscription. You are notified a few months in advance that you can renew or replace your subscription. You will often receive offers based on your usage. For example, the offers may be based on the number of minutes or MBs you use each month.

In short, a good customer view is an essential part of business and can have a big impact on a company's success.

4 ways in which a 360-degree customer view grows your business

There are several ways in which a 360-degree customer view can help a business grow. Below, we list the 4 most important ones:

1. Truly getting to know the customer

Knowing who your customers are will help you develop a better customer management strategy. We often tend to let the last interaction with a customer determine how we perceive them, due to a phenomenon known as recency bias. This is where we favour recent events over what happened in the past. This can quickly lead to incorrect assumptions or even missed sales opportunities.

However, customer relationships are not just about selling. Customer service is also an important part of the customer journey. If customer information is stored in different systems and these systems don't work together, it's difficult to provide good customer service. In a 2018 survey by Forrester Research, 42% of service staff said they were unable to help customers efficiently enough due to a lack of accessible and complete customer information. In fact, the survey found that "not getting immediate assistance" was the top reason for abandoning a transaction.

CRM software is a great tool for ensuring that you record and store all customer interactions. It is a place where you can collect, process, and store all customer data in one environment, regardless of where the customer information comes from. An example is a system like our Pegamento Contact Centre.

2. Better collaboration and cross-selling campaigns

Another great advantage of having a 360-degree customer view is that it improves collaboration between different departments, especially between marketing, sales, and service.

For example, if a service ticket contains a sales opportunity, the service agent can see who the account manager is and inform them. In addition, before a meeting, the account manager can see if there have been any recent requests from the customer. They can then include these in the conversation. In turn, the marketing department can use the same information to target the customer with more personalised campaigns.

Research by Aberdeen Group shows that by properly aligning marketing and sales, you can:

• generate 32% more income
• retain 36% more customers
• achieve 38% higher profit margins

You also ensure uniform and consistent communication when departments have access to the same information. This also eliminates confusion and customer irritation.

3. Better predictions

A 360-degree customer view not only shows you what your customers have done before, but it also gives you insight into what they might do in the future. Imagine a complete overview of all sales, phone calls, emails, service requests, priorities, and preferences. You can use all the data stored in the system to make reliable analyses and better predict what your customers will need in the future. This allows you to better assess when there are opportunities for cross- and upselling. It also tells you whether it is necessary to adjust your offers.

In addition, artificial intelligence (AI) can help you make better predictions. It analyses large amounts of data from various sources, such as customer data, transaction data, and social media. AI can process and analyse this data to provide valuable insights into customer behaviour, preferences, and needs. With these insights, you can make personalised offers and improve customer satisfaction.

One example is our Mail Assistant, which uses AI to understand the intent of emails and uses smart templates to process emails automatically. Another example is the Sprinklr Platform. When a service agent is chatting with a customer in a different language, the text is instantly translated into the correct language during the chat, the intent of the conversation is immediately understood, and the agent is guided in how to respond to the customer with automated response suggestions.

It is also possible to gain a better understanding of whether customers are satisfied or dissatisfied. When a service agent talks to a customer via chat or phone, the software recognises the customer's emotional state based on words, tone of voice and/or speech. Similarly, it recognises whether people are talking positively or negatively about your organisation on social media. These insights add substance to the customer view, allowing you to make better predictions.

4. Personalise and profit with a 360-degree customer view

It is now common knowledge that most customers prefer to do business with companies that use personal information to make the experience more relevant. This requires a complete picture of the customer's interactions. This includes both online and offline interactions, such as purchases, customer service calls, website behaviour, and any other sources from which you gather information about the customer. Combining this information gives you a better understanding of their needs and interests. This allows you to develop targeted and personalised marketing and sales strategies.

In fact, from McKinsey's Next 2021 in Personalisation report, it appears that 71% of consumers expect a personalised experience. 90% of customers also spend more when they get that personalised service. This is definitely something to think about when getting started with an integrated customer view.

You might also be interested in reading: The 6 customer contact trends in contact centres in 2023

From customer information to an integrated customer view

But how does it help your business grow? By bringing together all your customer information, making it visible in one place, and giving different departments access to it, you create a 360-degree view of the customer that helps your business grow and thrive. Ultimately, it ensures:

• Improved customer service: Companies can improve their customers' experience by better understanding their needs and preferences. They can offer personalised experiences, such as recommendations based on previous purchases or offering special discounts on products customers buy frequently.
• More targeted marketing: It enables companies to tailor their marketing messages to specific customer segments and target these segments more effectively. This leads to higher conversion rates and better ROI for marketing campaigns.
• Better product development: By understanding the needs and preferences of customers, a company can develop products and services that better meet customer needs. This leads to increased sales and a better reputation in the market.
• Increased customer satisfaction: Understanding customer needs and preferences leads to greater customer satisfaction and loyalty. This, in turn, leads to higher customer retention and positive word-of-mouth, which help to attract new customers and drive business growth.

How do you start? By integrating a CRM system where you can collect and capture all the information.