From integration to insights
With computing power and storage space easily accessible to companies of all sizes, collecting data is a simple matter. Most companies own mountains of data - but it's often kept in different places, exists in different formats and is accessed by separate applications that don't communicate with each other.
There are four key sources of data:
1. CRM and web-generated marketing data: serves as the customer's voice
2. Transactional data from the ERP: offers rich insights about the client;
3. Financial data: translates transactional data into monetary figures;
4. Data from third parties: brings additional context to the data.
In order to puzzle together the DNA of your customers to generate a 360-degree view, these data sources will need to be homogenized and combined. Analysis will then be needed to derive the insights that drive decision-making in sales and marketing.
Even today, many companies fail to take advantage of data analysis tools and methodologies to get the most out of their customer data, as they lack the technical expertise and specific competencies required. These tools and approaches are a must, though, to truly understand customer behavior.