What do you do if your Customer Experience data is fragmented across different CRM systems?

First you must know that data is huge and at the same time very important. Access the places where your data are scattered, what format it’s in and how it’s being utilized. Look for duplicates and inconsistency in the data. This will be an eye opener to unify your customer experience strategy by identifying the strength and weakness in your data pool.

Imagine you're a detective trying to piece together clues from different places. Take a good look at all the scattered customer information in your various systems. Figure out what's missing, what's wrong, and what's useful. This will help you understand the mess you're dealing with and how to clean it up.

Data is everywhere so it's important to be having a seamless way to capture and leverage it for data-driven decisions. This means you can't be leaving free information on the table. This means having a CRM, ERP, as well as a platform for 1st party and 3rd party data that reflects the processes of the organization. Often times, it's easy for this to overwhelm a system with organization and data cleanliness so for larger organizations, a platform approach is necessary to make sure every tool can integrate with one another and decrease the ways that the data can be missed, misunderstood, or multiplied. Ex: While hubspot works initially, because you can't access all your data as you grow, most graduate to SFDC that offer much greater access

The art of master data management is very crucial and tricky. It is very costly if the data is fragmented. However these are few things which can be done 1. At very least create a data management team 2. Try to keep a single source of truth for the customer data even if fragmented. For example keep all customer communication data master at one place. Keep customer preference data mastered at one place etc 3. Use common API based approach 4. Keep a data stewardship role to manage the data 5. Ensure the data is stored or consumed in same format

Picture yourself as a planner sketching out goals for a big project. Decide what you want to achieve by fixing your messy data situation. Maybe you want to make your customers happier or boost sales. Make sure your goals are clear and doable, so everyone knows what they're working toward.

Servicing from a unified servicing platform, capable of aggregating fragmented data from multiple CRMs and customer touchpoints can significantly enhance customer interactions and decision-making capabilities within organizations. Fast-paced scaling enterprises often face this challenge to integrate all the information in one place and difficulties to allocate their resources more efficiently towards high-value activities and ensures that quality checkpoints are auto -implemented at every steps. Sending tailored prompts, such as push notifications at strategic service milestones enhances customer reliability. Continuous monitoring and optimization of this intergration leverages CX data efficiently for enhanced customer satisfaction.

You would do well to create a data model where you can harmonise all of your disparate data sources, mapping incoming fields into one Single Source of Truth. This model can be added to over time, as and when new data sources are added. This is a well-trodden path, with a whole segment of products known as "Customer Data Platforms" already in existence that do just this.

Think of yourself as a smart shopper browsing through different tools in a store. Look for tools that can help bring all your data together in one place. Check if they're easy to use, can grow with your business, and work well with what you already have. Pick tools that will make your life easier and help you get the job done.

When selecting a tool for consolidation and analysis of CX data, there's three key considerations: 1) does this platform allow me to ingest ALL of the various types of data I gather across my customer journey, regardless of being structured/unstructured? 2) Does this tool have the analytical capabilities, AI/NLP to make this mass of data something full of insights? 3) Does this tool help me to turn those insights into meaningful actions which support those business objectives identified earlier. Final bonus question! 4) Does the vendor of this tool also provide human intelligence and support to get the best from my investment? Technology alone isn't a silver bullet, and can become expensive shelfware without that all-important guidance.

Which problems are you solving for with these tools and what are the common new problems that this change may ignite? No tool is ever perfect but an investment in the right tools based on where the organization is looking to grow along side the tool growing now has butterfly effects years later when the status quo becomes an only bigger ordeal to change. This means during the tool buying process, bringing in as many potentially relevant stakeholders that could use the tool or have comments on the outcome the tool helps provide is crucial because if they don't speak then when it's merely an idea, it will be situation to deal with in the real world in the future.

Take a look at what has already been built in the systems/tools you’re thinking of using that have uncovered findings that solve part or a parallel to your question. Connect with the builders of that output and learn from their experience. What can you replicate and enhance? That way, when you decide what you want to build, you can help your cause along with others.

When your Customer Experience (CX) data is scattered across various CRM systems, integrating this data is essential. Begin by identifying the data sources and the specific data they hold. Utilize a data integration tool that supports various CRM systems to automate and streamline the synchronization process. Establish a centralized database where all integrated data can be accessed and analyzed, ensuring consistency and accuracy. This integration not only simplifies data management but also enhances your ability to extract meaningful insights, improving decision-making and leading to a more unified customer experience strategy. This approach fosters a cohesive understanding of customer interactions across all platforms.

When people don't collaborate, redundancy is likely to happen processes spanning teams that operate on a variety of tools will create frictions between the people needing to seamlessly work together. Getting data integrated throughout organization systems costs more in the short term, but prevents many costly tune ups in the future. There's a reason why some people's entire jobs is managing Salesforce/CRM at large companies because this is *that* important.

Picture yourself as a conductor leading an orchestra. Your job is to make all the different instruments play together smoothly. Find ways to connect your scattered data so it can work together seamlessly. Use technology to link everything up and make sure it's all safe and secure. This way, you'll have a clear picture of your customers and can make better decisions.

Like I always say “learning never stops till death” ensure you always train your staffs to use data effectively so that they could use this data for a better customer experience. Ensure they also understand how to use the unified data to better serve the customers and how it could help them in their specific roles, proper training in data integration can maximize your CX strategy.

Imagine you're a teacher helping your students learn something new. Take the time to teach your team how to use the new tools and understand the importance of good data. Encourage them to ask questions, try things out, and keep learning. With everyone on board and confident, you'll be able to make the most of your unified data and give your customers the best experience possible.

Quite simply if users dont/wont use your new solution properly your data quality will deteriorate over time. A lot of important data will be in personal notes etc. and the whole point in creating a comprehensive data platform was for nothing. You should let yoyr personnel understand how important the mundane task of logging information is and what type of an impact it has for your customers.

Reporting and analysing the data must be built into your governance framework. Assess the appropriate of reporting- bi-monthly is the minimum I would advocate. Identify dependencies- Lean utilises the Quality Function Deployment model. First Customer requirements and priorities are assessed and recorded. Then current metrics are assessed for strength against these requirements. New metrics can then be recorded with a stronger link to the desired success factor. Finally, all utilisable metrics are reflected against each other to understand dependencies (one increases the other will decrease) to assess whether further prioritisation can occur, or merely to ensure you fully understand your reporting.

Navigating any data across various fragmented systems can seem daunting at first, but there is significant value in doing the exercise. The first step is to consolidate the data with integration tools or platforms that give you a true single view of customer interactions and behaviours. This not only simplifies analysis but also improves the accuracy of your customer insights. Look for technology solutions that offer seamless integration and real-time data processing to keep your customer experience strategy both agile and informed.

It's essential to consolidate and centralize the data to gain a comprehensive understanding of customer interactions and preferences. Begin by conducting a thorough audit of all CRM systems to identify duplicate or redundant data and establish a unified data management strategy. Consider implementing a master data management (MDM) solution or data integration tools to streamline data consolidation and synchronization processes. Collaborate with IT and data mgmt. teams to develop standardized data formats and protocols for seamless data exchange between CRM systems. By centralizing CX data, you can enhance data accuracy, improve insights generation, and provide more personalized and consistent customer experiences across touchpoints.