Data 360 Approach — The North Star of Divine Data Experience and Personalization
Introduction
The notion of Data 360 is not new and been buzzed in the recent past. It is also referred to as customer 360 and it is conceptually simple. It refers to the single view of the customer through all the data stuck in silos along with these enterprise and external systems and apps. We are submerged in data deluge and yet unquenched in our thirst for insights. The personalization need not be one- or two-dimensional with limited sources and can be pathbreaking if we can personify the profiles with unique ids, garnering data across the sources in a permissible way. The whole idea looks easy-peasy on the paper, but it is difficult to successfully put in use and repeat.
Common Cause Vs Special Cause!
This scenario is akin to the common cause of the six sigma statistics concept. For example, from the day cricket is invented batsmen still get out caught in slips. Whatever root cause analysis and structured problem-solving method are used batsmen will still get out in that fashion. This is because of the multitude of factors and variables involved. It is very difficult to solve or eliminate such issues.
The special cause is relatively simple. Any incidents like batsmen getting hurt, we can get it treated and fix in most of the cases.
Here, pitch-perfect Data 360 seems to be a common cause variation, it is about mundane data but involves a lot of factors and variables to achieve such a model. This can only be a theoretical state considering the number of sources in which people leave their data traces.
A special cause would be any specific request by a client for custom integration with things like CRM or transaction systems. This can be treated singularly and accomplished as needed.
The Flux of Functionalities and Emerging Overlaps
Top- and mid-level CRM players developed ticketing modules as well as outbound solutions, distorting the boundaries of CRM, Ticketing Tool, Contact Center, and so on.
Explicit, industry-standard ticketing tools are there (like ServiceNow) and outbound is a part of contact center solutions. Everybody wants to be in everything due to the urge of reinventing to avoid getting lost in the ruthless competition and identity crisis (a different topic altogether).
The reason these players foray into each other territories is not only to build diverse capabilities but to have a homogenous ground to effectively play Data 360 strategies. Of course, vendor-lock-in and building dependency are other aspects of creating such a suite of applications and selling them.
Building a suite of CRM, BPM, Ticketing, and so on, and selling them with Data 360 on top of these is an effective strategy to align with the business goals of the clients looking for holistic data-driven approaches.
Having discussed these, such auxiliary modules will not suffice enterprise customers with specialized needs in each area such as ITSM (IT service management or ticketing tool), Contact Center, and so on. Big companies are most likely to choose the niche and established players to deal with such large needs.
Let us see some interesting endeavors of some top CRM and BPM players with respect to such peripheral capabilities:
· Salesforce: CRM kingpin, has both ticketing tool and cloud contact center tool built on their CRM framework.
· Pega: known for its dominance in CRM has a BPM* tool which is ruling that space and they also have a contact center (both prem and cloud) tool built on their CRM framework.
*Note: Business Process Management (BPM) takes workflows to a logical conclusion, such as a credit card approval from application submission to dispatch. It typically has an in-built case management solution as well. It is often confused with the term “Business Process Outsourcing” (BPO) and used interchangeably.
Pega is the powerful player in the BPM world with thought-provoking functionalities such as “Situational Layer Cake” (region-specific pre-configuration to reduce overall configuration time) and Directly Capture Objectives (DCO) (auto-generation of requirement documentation again to save time and be precise with no unwanted shift and drift in the requirements management).
Can We Change the Game from CRM-Centric to Contact Center-Centric Data 360 Solutions?
To be precise, it is just a year ago CRM giant (Salesforce) and other mid to small players launched such 360 products and it is now a hot cake for them. Typically, these players use middleware products and other open-source models to connect to the variety of systems to bring up the “Single Source of Truth” by setting rules and algorithms from the AI and ML realm. It is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle; it is all there in front of you bit and pieces and just that they have to be connected and structured.
Aren’t We Already Have Such 360 View?
Of course, however, it is intrinsic within the platform’s omnichannel abilities to form a screen pop. In addition, CRM, case management, and transaction system integrations are used in some cases to track the customer's previous interactions and purchase and inquiry history. Our interaction analytics and customer journey solutions do provide similar tools for 360 views.
This can organically grow above and beyond this and reach new heights with proactive integrations with theticketing systems, social media, and so on.
Generic, bombarding campaigns (based on “spray and pray”) will no longer entice the end customers. Ultra-personalized campaigns need refined and scientifically put-together contact lists and screen pops.
Conclusion
Companies are embarking on their journey on hyper-personalization and are effectively using the data at a never-before pace. Such complete 360 solutions from our side can be really transforming and game-changing. We do already have the nuggets in terms of REST API and Open Platform capabilities, including readily available integrations with CRM and other enterprise systems.
It seems we are in the penultimate step of a reinvented and successful Data 360; believe we will succeed substantially on this approach and already have done it to a certain extent.
