How a 360-degree customer view will grow your business

Knowing your customers is the key to both day-to-day and long-term business success. It enables you to adapt a flexible marketing and sales approach to really understand, engage, and ultimately convert your customers/potential clients.

But effective customer knowledge includes more than just remembering a person’s name and some business details.

In fact, a comprehensive customer management strategy goes beyond the simple details.

You must create a complete picture of the customer journey, from beginning to end, with touchpoints at every stage – hence we call it the “360-degree customer view”.

But what exactly is a 360-degree customer view? How can your business obtain one? And how does this enable business growth? We explore exactly that, right here.

What is a 360-degree customer view?

A 360-degree customer view refers to the collection of all your customer data in one place. From basic contact information to past and present purchasing data, as well as all interactions with customer service and social media behaviour.

In today’s technology-driven world, having a great product is not enough. You need to capture valuable data and offer great customer service to match – this is where having a 360-degree view becomes so powerful.

With a comprehensive view of customer data, companies can access account information quickly, understand priorities and preferences, and anticipate future needs.

Let us explore this in more detail though. Here are three ways you can gain the edge over competition with a 360-degree customer view.

How can a 360-degree customer view help grow your business?       

1.     Improved customer intelligence

Too often, strategy discussions are limited by a single, most recent piece of information. This could be based on recent call with the customer, an email, or any other form of communication. Hardly a complete picture is it?

Thankfully, customer relationship management (CRM) software offers a fantastic solution for tracking all customer touchpoints. By utilising the strengths of a CRM, your team can focus on valuable information, such as:

• What a customer’s purchase history consists of
• If a customer engages with your brand via social media
• Insights to previous emails sent by a customer
• Whether a customer has previously opened any support tickets and what their concerns were

Using a CRM also means your team is getting their information from the same source, resulting in consistent interactions for each customer no matter who they deal with.

2.     Offer seamless customer service

As you will know, service is a huge part of the customer journey. It contributes to the satisfaction of each customer and how likely they are to continue doing business with you.

Sensible companies do not act on the basis that a customer might need help making their product run smoothly. Instead, they prepare for the when. The reality is, customer concerns or difficulties will come up, and they will need to be handled as efficiently as possible.

It is how these challenges are dealt with that makes all the difference to a customer’s experience. That is why a 360-degree view is paramount.

Do not make it difficult for your customer when they phone up asking for assistance - they should not have to explain their needs or provide details about their purchase. Instead, provide your support team with the information needed to address the situation quickly and competently.

3.     Better predictive analysis

Not only will a 360-degree view help you see what your customers have already done, but will also help you predict what they might do next.

By creating a complete picture of a customer’s situation, including accounts, transactions, service calls, priorities, and preferences, you will have a clearer idea as to what they might need in the future.

Not only will this enable your sales representative to better foresee and act on opportunities for cross-sells, upgrades, or repeat orders, but the data will provide insights to where service offerings may need changing or adapting.

Enable a 360-degree customer view with help from Nolan Business Solutions

Are you looking to improve customer intelligence, offer a seamless service, improve your sales strategy, and ultimately, grow? With over 30 years’ experience helping companies succeed with software, Nolan Business Solutions could be the perfect partner for you.

As an accredited NetSuite solution provider, we will help you achieve that 360-degree view needed to grow as a business. Why not request a free demo today or contact us with any questions you have – we are more than happy to help.