If the customer is king, then Customer Data is a royal treasure. As businesses face a double-whammy of a bleak economy and increasingly tough competition, Customer Data is the most valuable asset for any organization. If used effectively, Data can be pivotal to the long-term success of your business. But how do you use Customer Data to propel business growth? Enter the benefits Customer Master Data Management (MDM), a tech-focused discipline to create a master record for each client that gives you a single, 360º view of your customers.
In other words, Master Data Management is the key to modernising, managing and monetising your business.
What is Customer MDM?
Customer master data management is a strategic approach to unifying and managing all your customer data into a single, centralized repository. This master record provides a 360-degree view of each customer, including their demographics, purchase history, interactions with your brand, and more.
Benefits of Customer Master Data Management
By implementing Customer MDM, you can unlock a range of benefits that can transform your business. The eight benefits to customer MDM are;
- Increased Sales and Revenue
- Enhanced Marketing ROI
- Improved Customer Experience
- Boosted Customer Retention
- Data-Driven Decision Making
- Improved Data Quality and Governance
- Enhanced Operational Efficiency
- Stronger Data Security
Increased Sales and Revenue
Let’s face it - making money and boosting sales is the number one goal for any business, big or small.
Customer MDM helps you understand your clients’ DNA, their supply chain while also giving you tools to strengthen client interactions that will lead to increased sales.
The better you know your customer, the better you can engage with them as individuals, be it through client service calls or getting in touch via a mass-marketing campaign for new sales.
Enhanced Marketing ROI
Award-winning airline Jet2 had Data records bigger than the size of the UK’s population (67 million).
These records were spread across eight different Data Sources, and duplicates were galore. The airline wanted to optimise its Customer Data to get better results from its marketing activity to secure more bookings.
Agile Solutions created the first ever single customer view for Jet2 – helping them to see every holidaymaker as a person and as part of a household, not just a standalone booking.
Master Data Management helped Jet2 get the necessary results from their marketing campaign, thanks to high-quality Data that painted a complete picture of their customers, rather than giving a siloed insight of each booking.
Read more about Jet2’s MDM journey with Agile Solutions and how they boosted their marketing efforts.
Better Data Quality and resource management
You need accurate Data Sources to come up with a seamless customer journey.
Master Data Management puts a strong emphasis on Data Quality that eliminates the possibility of duplications, missing fields, errors and inconsistencies which could lead to unhappy customers.
MDM also helps identify red flags in incoming raw Data and provides a benchmark for inputs that enable businesses to hold the highest levels of Data within their organization.
Turn to page six of our guide to learn more about how Agile Solutions’ Customer MDM can boost Data Quality.
Innovation
Master Data Management holds the key to fueling innovation in your business and finding that next star product or service.
Having access to a single source for all crucial client information means you can identify business trends, foresee future customer needs and make business decisions based on accurate and up-to-date Customer Data.
MDM can help you map out a personalised customer experience, explore automations, while acting as a launch pad for other opportunities along your customer’s ever-increasing digital journey.
Seamless cross-channel customer experiences
In any organization, one person can be a customer across many different service lines. In a bank, for example, a mortgage customer could also have home insurance and a current account. They could have an active complaint going through customer care, while also waiting for a loan approval.
Master Data Management equips businesses with all the Customer Data they need to provide a smooth and consistent cross-channel customer experience. Agile Solutions’ MDM not only focuses on all the Data you have on a customer - but also its accuracy, accessibility and reliability.
Think having all the latest information you need on a customer on one cheatsheet.
This means the customer is able to have an exemplary experience with your business which would consequently increase loyalty to your brand.
Data security
Nearly half (48.8%) of C-suite and other executives expect the number and size of cyber events targeting their organisations’ data to increase in the year ahead, a poll by the new Deloitte Center for Controllership found in February this year.
More than 34% of polled executives said that their organisations’ accounting and financial data was targeted by cyber adversaries. Meanwhile, 22% said they experienced at least one such cyber event and 12.5% experienced more than one.
Master Data Management can help your business reduce cyber security risks by increasing the Data Accuracy of customers so that you’re able to safeguard your clientele from any suspicious activity. With MDM, you’re armed with all the data you need on a customer to ensure no fraudster can try taking advantage of them.
It also helps with non-compliance issues as businesses are able to quickly sift through any Data they hold on a customer that isn’t in line with industry regulations.
Reducing costs
The beauty of Master Data Management is that it makes sure “you get the right product in front of the right customer at the right time and at the right cost to the business”, according to Informatica’s Mike Hudgell, who has over 20 years experience in helping organisations implement Master Data Management.
MDM solutions help you reduce costs to your business because access to a single source of truth means you’re spending less time and resources on a business service - a cost saving you can then pass on to your customers.
That’s why when the world’s largest renewable energy company RES needed a better way to manage multiple data sets and a faster, better way to analyse and compare data, they reached out to Agile Solutions.
Customer retention and attracting new customers
A core benefit of Master Data Management is attracting and retaining cash-rich and time-poor customers.
Be it reducing errors or eliminating duplication, MDM strengthens Data Quality which helps businesses provide faster and more accurate services - a key expectation of customers today.
MDM platforms help you give your clients the best Customer Journey which substantially increases the chances of retention.
This could then lead to happy customers spreading the word and helping in customer referrals and new business.
But most importantly, Master Data Management helps build trust in your brand that brings peace of mind to your customers.
Is Customer Master Data Management Right for You?
If you're struggling to manage your customer data effectively, then Customer MDM is a worthwhile investment. It can help you improve customer relationships, boost sales, and gain a competitive edge.
Ready to Get Started?
Ready to enjoy the benefits of Master Data Management? Agile Solutions can help you change your perspective and see the benefits of customer master data management, download our guide, Know your customer: An Agile Solutions guide to customer MDM, today to get started.
Agile Solutions is a leading provider of MDM solutions. We can help you implement a comprehensive MDM strategy that meets your unique business needs.