{"id":32283,"date":"2020-05-13T09:00:27","date_gmt":"2020-05-13T08:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-gb\/industry\/blog\/?p=32283"},"modified":"2020-07-31T14:56:09","modified_gmt":"2020-07-31T13:56:09","slug":"the-power-of-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-gb\/industry\/blog\/retail\/2020\/05\/13\/the-power-of-data\/","title":{"rendered":"The power of data: how to deliver a strong digital customer experience"},"content":{"rendered":"
Data helps organisations better understand customer\u2019s needs, providing valuable insights that ensure they deliver the right information, for the right customer, at the right time.<\/p>\n
Businesses have been chasing the goal of having a \u2018single customer view\u2019 and providing omni-channel experiences for a long time. We\u2019ve been helping businesses harness the power of data to drive more informed business decisions and transform customer experiences for 25 years.<\/p>\n
Dynamics 365 Customer Insights provides a platform for your team to deliver innovative and personalised customer experiences with a streamlined and unified view of data across the whole business. However, there are a few things you need to do to set yourself up for success before getting started.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s perhaps trite, but having the right team is critical. Successful teams are those who can clearly articulate the business impact of data decisions to stakeholders who might never have considered customer data in that level of detail before.<\/p>\n
Successful projects start with upfront acknowledgement that the organisation will have to address more than just the technical aspects of customer data. You need to also examine what data really means to the organisation and how you can get the most value from it.<\/p>\n
That means open discussion between people who really understand the data and people who have the vision for how the data could be applied to deliver amazing insight and inspiring customer interactions.<\/p>\n
What does your customer think about their experiences with your organisation? How would they describe their relationship with your brand? Think about whether you will apply probabilistic or deterministic data signals to identify customers or a mixture of both to better link disparate customer interactions.<\/p>\n
Putting yourself into the customer\u2019s shoes will influence how you assemble a single customer view. Thinking of your customer\u2019s needs and wants from the outset will help ensure your project stays true to its values and goals, allowing it to have greater impact, quicker.<\/p>\n
Finding the right platform is key to success. With built-in security, privacy, and governance, tools like Dynamics 365 Customer Insights will help you maintain full ownership over your data while making it easy to apply compliance and governance rules with your single view.<\/p>\n
These are just a snippet of the types of things you will need to think about based on the unique needs of your organisation and your customers.<\/p>\n
Customer data projects that deliver strong ROI control breadth of scope, not depth. When you pay attention to the details early in a project, it translates into faster realised value and a smoother deployment. It also makes it easy to optimise processes for your employees, making it easier for them to do their work and create innovation.<\/p>\n
Some of the details it\u2019s worth focussing on are:<\/p>\n
Details don\u2019t have to be at the expense of the big-picture. Successful organisations have a living roadmap for their customer data and their customer data technology projects.<\/p>\n
Each step along the customer data journey roadmap should align inputs with outcomes and feedback. This loop continues as you gather data and use these insights to further improve your roadmap.<\/p>\n
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Think about the actions you want to take and how you want to grow. To do this, identify the data-driven customer interactions you want to provide and the kind of insight you need to inform better decisions.<\/p>\n
Once you\u2019ve identified the insights you need, think about the technology you need to gather and harness data to help drive these outcomes. A platform like Dynamics 365 will adapt and extend with your needs, growing alongside your business and help unlock insights and power personalised customer experiences.<\/p>\n
Share this roadmap widely among all stakeholders (marketing, IT, sales, customer service, etc.) and update it every time new customer data capability is released to the organisation. This helps everyone contribute, feedback, and buy-in to any phasing decisions that are made.<\/p>\n
Doing these first steps before you start using software means you\u2019ll understand your customer\u2019s needs more and use the power of data to drive better experiences. You\u2019ll also have better buy-in from stakeholders and employees when implementing the technology.<\/p>\n
That means you\u2019ll be well placed to streamline how you source, integrate, and assemble data to deliver your single customer view. Dynamics 365 Customer Insights uses AI to help drive insights that your marketing, sales, and customer service professionals need to give personalised experiences to your customers.<\/p>\n
Explore Dynamics 365 Customer Insights<\/a><\/p>\n Watch our webinar to learn more about Dynamics 365 Customer Insights<\/a><\/p>\n Learn how to get a 360 degree view of your customer<\/a><\/p>\n