Unified Data: The Elephant in the Room
5th June 2018
Inconvenient truth: you get out what you put in and data is no exception to this rule.
Enterprise, unified data is the ‘elephant in the room’ in many organisations. As more organisations start to see the value of truly understanding their customers and business operations in greater detail, there are still many companies that are unaware of the true cost of Bad Data, incomplete or siloed Data.
The volume of data across most organisations doubles every year, so data issues grow and compound, and the ‘Elephant’ grows. Many companies grow through acquisition and merger, which amplify the effects of any existing data issues due to the acquisition of multiple legacy ERPs, ecommerce, CRM, Epos etc. systems.
Most companies are aware they have data issues but trying to resolve them is perceived as too difficult or costly to attempt. The ‘Elephant’ grows even larger.
“Data is boring and old hat. Isn’t it all about AR, VR and AI?” is a common question across organisations but with the never-ending list of Retailers struggling or going under, it has never been more important to engage with your customer based on “Relevancy”. When it comes to customer engagement, never run before you can walk.
I have lost count of the number of retailers and suppliers who send me a fantastic offer only to be left feeling disappointed, and full of resentment, when I click through to see they do not have my size, or a style or a product I would never buy.
Even worse is the ‘capture all’ offer emails, sent out to “see what sticks”. Sorry but having my legs waxed is so not me! I also do not open this type of promotion anymore, so I may be missing out on genuine deals and those companies have lost a sale.
Truly knowing your customer is instrumental to a successful Enterprise today.
What is the value of Unified, good quality data?
Data management and unifying data assets should be seen as an investment, not a cost burden. The value of maintaining good quality data on your business, your clients, prospects, inventory, products and suppliers should not be underestimated.
Data assets really are your Crown Jewels that gives you the ability to make more informed decisions about strategy based on true relevance and actionable insights.
The Enterprise 360-degree holistic view from end to end comes from Good quality data that is unified and in usable data domains. This cannot be achieved in source systems, no matter what the vendor tells you.
Siloed data is still siloed data until you unify it.
It is not just about knowing your customers but truly knowing the Who, What, Where, When, and Why consumers spend their money. This is not rocket science. Relevant and timely data provides the evidence that supports strategic decision-making which leads to effective customer engagement strategies and informs what to make, where to sell and how your suppliers perform through accurate real time insights.
Conclusion
Currently untapped by most industries, the value of unified, quality, relevant and timely data not only provides your business with accurate and reliable data, it ensures consistency across data sources allowing relevant communications and engagement.
Once your data is unified across the Enterprise, you can truly engage with customers based on what they like, offer promotions with the correct level of Inventory, and the recipient is left feeling that, as a customer, the supplier truly values them.
Want to sell more? Make it relevant to the person, what they want and like, not what they have no interest in, and make sure you have the inventory. This is simple to achieve with unified data that is shared across all departments.
If unified data is the elephant in the room in your company, now is the time to face it head on and begin having conversations about the true cost of the data you hold and how to maximise its value.
