Creating a single customer view (a company’s ability to track a given client across all communication channels) has been a desired outcome since the collection of big data began. However, only six percent of marketers polled in a survey by the cross-channel marketing company Signal said that this goal had been achieved.
And, while ninety percent identified a single customer view (SCV) as a key element of success, a third had not taken any steps to accomplish this. Those marketers actively pursuing an SCV said they were bogged down with data that is fragmented and incomplete, preventing them from creating a superior customer experience.
A third of marketers said they relied on in-house platforms for collecting and analyzing data while another third said they used a mix of on-site and outsourcing. In both of these instances, data collection and analysis was not unified or codified. Only about 15 percent said they had taken the initiative and developed their own technology.
Inconsistent and inadequate technological resources were cited as the greatest impediment to creating an SCV and, while marketers acknowledged that progress towards a complete cross-channel picture must happen incrementally, more than seventy percent think that existing gaps and fragmented data prevented development of the entire picture.
The study pointed out that collecting and then connecting the cross-channel dots is critical if marketers want to improve their promotional acumen and present their clientele with precisely targeted campaigns that boost ROI. But, as long as data collection and analysis remains piecemeal, conducted as separate operations, it will prevent its being merged and integrated into a comprehensive view of customer habits.
References:
eMarketer. “Will Marketers Ever Find a Single Customer View Solution?” March 30, 2015.
Sands, Mike. “New Global Survey from Signal Shows the Prized Single View of the Customer Remains Stubbornly Out of Reach for Marketers,” March 24, 2015.
