Gaining a ‘360° view’ of customers has suddenly become a top priority for managers around the globe – and with good reason. Here’s an overview of what this view brings and how to achieve it.
The term ‘360° view’ refers to a holistic view of customers, and there’s no mystery as to why it has become so sought after among today’s marketing strategists.
Companies, as a rule, want to gain a deeper understanding of individual customers, both existing and potential. Doing so enables companies to serve customers better by providing a highly personalized experience. That relationship, in turn, leads to better upsell and cross-sell, and a reduction in churn.
A #360° view of customers helps companies increase sales
Unfortunately, today’s customer relationship management (CRM) systems rarely profile the customer with the necessary degree of precision. Often the data collected is too basic. When wider-ranging data is gathered, it’s typically not utilized anywhere near its full potential. The picture of the customer remains too fuzzy to meet the company’s goals.
The ‘360° view’ strategy has recently emerged to fill this gap.
Creating the right system starts with combining data from all company data sources such as CRM, marketing automation, customer service, enterprise resource planning (ERP), etc. Any other customer data held by the company, be it business intelligence or invoicing, can also be brought in.
The next step is to add open data sources from the internet, such as social media or public databases, or from other data providers. Once all the relevant aspects of the customer are assembled in one data set, the company finally has its ‘360° view.’
Knowledge is power, but…
This detailed view answers key questions about the customer’s relationships and roles. For example, is the customer the head of a household? Is the customer a decision-maker in a company and therefore also a potential business client? What related products and services might they be a good candidate for?
Being able to answer these kinds of questions is invaluable for directing marketing and sales efforts. But it’s also only the halfway point on the road to revenue.
The company must be able to leverage the knowledge to properly categorize, prioritize, and differentiate the communication for each customer, making sure the experience offered to customers improves. Strategies have to be put in place to ensure that this communication leads to higher customer satisfaction, which in turn will lead to higher sales figures. This is where other aspects of revenue science come into play, building on the gains from the ‘360° view.’
At the end of the day, the ‘360° view’ will give your customers improved user experience; it will help you find upsell and cross-sell opportunities, and prevent churn.
Contact Nortal to find out more about this holistic strategy and how we can make it work for your company. When it comes to your customers, there’s no point in remaining in the dark. We can help you break through the wall blocking your revenue.
