What the heck is SCV? Why does it matter?
Some of you may know me quite well and know a little about the company I work for. Yes, we deal with a lot of data and offer a lot of services around the intelligent use of data across an organisation.
One of these is helping companies create what is generically known as a Single Customer View (or Single Citizen View in the Public Sector). I wanted to spend a little time looking at what a Single Customer View (SCV) is and what it could be in the future as the effects of Big Data enable us to do more.
So let's start with the basics: What is Single Customer View?
Think about how an organisation stores data on its customers or contacts. What kind of data do they store? Where do they store it?
For the majority of organisations, this is Name, Address, Telephone Number, Mobile Number, E-Mail address (and for some, Social Network ID). This data is then used in various areas of an organisation, for example;
You can start to see how pervasive this Party data (Contact data) becomes. Now add in the fact that the majority of organisations (57%) have no plans to integrate all of this into one data store and you can quickly come to the conclusion that this must cause a fair bit of waste, confusion and risk for businesses, their people and their customers.
So what is SCV? Basically, it's taking all of these stores of Party data and combining them into one master data store that all of the departments in your organisation can access. This leads to obvious efficiencies.
For an overview of some of the reasons to embark upon a Single Customer View (and the benefits), check out this white paper by Experian.
The Future of Single Customer View - Big Data Strikes Again!
So, we've looked briefly at what SCV is and how it works in the world of Party data. It creates efficiencies and can help organisations create a multi-channel approach to many of their essential activities. Excellent.
Now, as we see more and more about Big Data, we need to take this a step further. Organisations are going to be making use of types of data that could be described as something other than 'Party'. Think about the comments and views from Twitter, the recordings of support calls, the photos used to advertise an item on eBay or the route of a shopper through a supermarket (tracked by their phone signal). How can this help?
It gives the organisation more information and enables those with an effective SCV already to add these new layers of insight on top using some of the Big Data tools already available (and others that will come along soon).
Think about it, you work for a grocery store and have a customer called John. He has previously purchased from his local superstore and from your website using his PC. You know this because you have linked together his Loyalty Card details with his website login (that contains his address, email & mobile). You've also got his Twitter ID from a competition you ran via that service.
John visits your superstore and is on the lookout for a new TV. To do this he's downloaded an app onto his phone that lets him compare prices by scanning a barcode (you could even provide this app to him). It also just so happens that you offer free Wi-Fi in your store that John happily uses.
From this, you'll be able to see when John enters the store (from his phone signal & number) and also see when he starts using the app by his Wi-Fi usage. Now wouldn't it be good if you could run the same search, see that another store offers a better price and match that by sending John a tweet, email or text offering him the relevant discount if he buys from you?
By linking together all of this contact data and real time 'action' data, you can influence the consumers decision and get the customer to stay with you. By watching Facebook you'll also notice later on that John loves his new TV and is really pleased with the service you offered. He's just told his 200 Facebook friends about this.. Could you offer them something to get their business too while they're reading about how great you are?
I know this all seems a little far-fetched and scary but I honestly don't see any barriers to this kind of Single Customer View across data domains leading to more business efficiencies, better consumer choice and better returns on marketing spend.
However, to get to this nirvana / nightmare (delete as appropriate) you need an effective SCV of your Contact data. Start there and the world is your oyster!
One of these is helping companies create what is generically known as a Single Customer View (or Single Citizen View in the Public Sector). I wanted to spend a little time looking at what a Single Customer View (SCV) is and what it could be in the future as the effects of Big Data enable us to do more.
So let's start with the basics: What is Single Customer View?
Think about how an organisation stores data on its customers or contacts. What kind of data do they store? Where do they store it?
For the majority of organisations, this is Name, Address, Telephone Number, Mobile Number, E-Mail address (and for some, Social Network ID). This data is then used in various areas of an organisation, for example;
- Telesales capture this kind of information when someone calls in.
- They also use it when contacting existing customers to offer them something new.
- Billing use the data to ensure that the right bill goes to the right place.
- Marketing use it to send out materials and follow up on leads from all channels.
You can start to see how pervasive this Party data (Contact data) becomes. Now add in the fact that the majority of organisations (57%) have no plans to integrate all of this into one data store and you can quickly come to the conclusion that this must cause a fair bit of waste, confusion and risk for businesses, their people and their customers.
So what is SCV? Basically, it's taking all of these stores of Party data and combining them into one master data store that all of the departments in your organisation can access. This leads to obvious efficiencies.
For an overview of some of the reasons to embark upon a Single Customer View (and the benefits), check out this white paper by Experian.
The Future of Single Customer View - Big Data Strikes Again!
So, we've looked briefly at what SCV is and how it works in the world of Party data. It creates efficiencies and can help organisations create a multi-channel approach to many of their essential activities. Excellent.
Now, as we see more and more about Big Data, we need to take this a step further. Organisations are going to be making use of types of data that could be described as something other than 'Party'. Think about the comments and views from Twitter, the recordings of support calls, the photos used to advertise an item on eBay or the route of a shopper through a supermarket (tracked by their phone signal). How can this help?
It gives the organisation more information and enables those with an effective SCV already to add these new layers of insight on top using some of the Big Data tools already available (and others that will come along soon).
Think about it, you work for a grocery store and have a customer called John. He has previously purchased from his local superstore and from your website using his PC. You know this because you have linked together his Loyalty Card details with his website login (that contains his address, email & mobile). You've also got his Twitter ID from a competition you ran via that service.
John visits your superstore and is on the lookout for a new TV. To do this he's downloaded an app onto his phone that lets him compare prices by scanning a barcode (you could even provide this app to him). It also just so happens that you offer free Wi-Fi in your store that John happily uses.
From this, you'll be able to see when John enters the store (from his phone signal & number) and also see when he starts using the app by his Wi-Fi usage. Now wouldn't it be good if you could run the same search, see that another store offers a better price and match that by sending John a tweet, email or text offering him the relevant discount if he buys from you?
By linking together all of this contact data and real time 'action' data, you can influence the consumers decision and get the customer to stay with you. By watching Facebook you'll also notice later on that John loves his new TV and is really pleased with the service you offered. He's just told his 200 Facebook friends about this.. Could you offer them something to get their business too while they're reading about how great you are?
I know this all seems a little far-fetched and scary but I honestly don't see any barriers to this kind of Single Customer View across data domains leading to more business efficiencies, better consumer choice and better returns on marketing spend.
However, to get to this nirvana / nightmare (delete as appropriate) you need an effective SCV of your Contact data. Start there and the world is your oyster!
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