Why do you need to have a single customer view?

At a time when customers are communicating with brands using multiple channels, contact centers must have a single and unified view of the customer.

You’ve probably encountered the concept of a “single view of the customer” while reading articles, books, or studies about customer service. But most business leaders are still not sure what exactly this means.

Global information services firm Experian defines a “single customer view” this way:

“…a readily accessible, consistent summary of a customer’s product relationship with an organization, combined with essential customer data such as name, address, date of birth, and credit information.“

Perhaps we can expand Experian’s definition to include not just a customer’s product relationship, but its entire relationship with a brand. This takes into account all conversations and interactions between the customer and the brand, the issues they’ve encountered, and their purchase history.

But to gain a deeper understanding of what a single customer view is, you must first understand the idea behind omnichannel customer service.

Omnichannel explained

An omnichannel customer support approach gives customers several options for connecting with a brand. They can use the phone, send an email, or messages via web chat or social media instant messaging (think Facebook Messenger).

Brands need to provide a seamless customer experience through these channels. This entails two main considerations.

First, call center agents must use a consistent tone of voice, speed, and style when delivering customer care across different channels.

Second, they must be able to handle, cross-channel conversations, meaning those that started from one platform and continued by the customer in a different platform.

If a contact center can do both, they instantly raise the quality of the services they provide to customers. But it won’t be possible without first having a 360-degree view of the customer.

Benefits of having a single customer view

Having an all-around view of the customer is a prerequisite to delivering seamless omnichannel customer service. It gives businesses the ability to track customers, along with every instance that they got in touch with them.

Apart from this, here are other benefits of having a single full view of the customer.

 

1.     Deliver hyper-personalized services.

If you have the ability to gather customers’ insights and data, you can build an extensive customer database. This gives call center agents access to clients’ information, purchase history, and previous conversations with the brand. With all these data at hand, they can deliver personalized services, recommendations, or suggestions to clients.

 

2.     Cultivate strong customer relations.

Personalizing the customer experience is a powerful way to build meaningful connections with consumers. When brands are attuned to their customers’ needs, they’re able to make their customers happy and satisfied. This can build loyalty and thus increase businesses’ profitability.

 

3.     Speed up customer support.

Having access to customer information also lets call center reps solve issues faster. A single view of the customer enables them to see all the issues that have been encountered by clients. This lets them gain a deeper understanding of customers’ problems, which facilitates faster resolution.