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Glenn Johnson, senior vice president, Magic Software Enterprises Americas
Many companies aim to get a 360 degree view of their interactions with customers. However, ERP users with integrated CRM data that provide a comprehensive view, think they have reached the summit, only to discover that there are still more mountains to climb.
Customer interactions are defined based on more than just the CRM system. Transactions are sometimes processed through e-commerce, point-of-sale systems and even through mobile order entry applications. Work orders can be handled by field service, PLM (product life cycle management) and other systems. Deliveries to customers are tracked with warehouse management, transport and logistics management systems. There is no shortage of business applications, cloud services and social media sites to contact your customers.
So how do you really get a 360 degree solution for the customer? First of all, it is important to clarify why you want a complete view of the customer. It's not just about getting a 360-degree view of the data, it's also about capturing a 360-degree view of the entire customer experience. The goal is to use all integrated data to surround customers with a quality experience that satisfies them and attracts them in order to become highly enthusiastic fans.
Do not integrate customer data, optimize the customer experience
Focusing only on data integration can tell you what happened, usually just a day later. As a result, your sales, marketing and service teams may make incorrect decisions based on the previous day's batch of information. Your customers are unlikely to be impressed if, when serving them, you have expired or incomplete information. Making sure that there is up-to-date information close to real time and relevant to each stage of the customer's journey is essential for successful system integration.
McKinsey & Company, like other leading researchers, suggests that companies need to incorporate customer journeys into their operating models in four ways: (1) they must identify the journeys where they need to exceed expectations, (2) understand how they are currently performing in each of these journeys, (3) build multifunctional processes to redesign and support those journeys and (4) institute cultural change and continuous improvement to support scale-based initiatives.
As you seek to identify the key parts of the journey, the areas that are standing out above the competition that will make your business thrive, you need to look at all processes, as well as the various systems that interact with them, and analyze the improvements that can be made.
The various systems that manage the different aspects of functional processes do not need to change radically. However, what really needs to change is its ability to analyze data between different systems, and, most importantly, trigger processes between systems. Developing a real-time customer architecture to support customer experiences means covering multiple systems with triggers, alerts, alarms and escalations. This means that you need a systems integration solution that does more than just data integration, you need a solution capable of orchestrating business processes in real time.
Focus on the customer at all stages
An integration effort must be made to improve the overall efficiency of the organization and to bridge the gap between systems, with the aim of optimizing each stop along each customer journey. In addition to creating unnecessary work, process gaps cause tangible risks to the business. Suffering from these gaps makes organizations susceptible to human error; have slower response times; sustain the rising costs of the process; and suffer deterioration in employee satisfaction.
Integrating ERP and CRM systems is not only about collecting all the data, but also rationalizing customer service, order processing and sales administration. To avoid black holes in the customer journey, all the various IT systems related to all stages along the customer journey - product selection, purchase, delivery and customer service - must be connected. Rather than simply integrating CRM and ERP data, automating customer-related processes in IT systems is the best way to improve and optimize the customer experience.
Customer interactions are defined based on more than just the CRM system. Transactions are sometimes processed through e-commerce, point-of-sale systems and even through mobile order entry applications. Work orders can be handled by field service, PLM (product life cycle management) and other systems. Deliveries to customers are tracked with warehouse management, transport and logistics management systems. There is no shortage of business applications, cloud services and social media sites to contact your customers.
So how do you really get a 360 degree solution for the customer? First of all, it is important to clarify why you want a complete view of the customer. It's not just about getting a 360-degree view of the data, it's also about capturing a 360-degree view of the entire customer experience. The goal is to use all integrated data to surround customers with a quality experience that satisfies them and attracts them in order to become highly enthusiastic fans.
Do not integrate customer data, optimize the customer experience
Focusing only on data integration can tell you what happened, usually just a day later. As a result, your sales, marketing and service teams may make incorrect decisions based on the previous day's batch of information. Your customers are unlikely to be impressed if, when serving them, you have expired or incomplete information. Making sure that there is up-to-date information close to real time and relevant to each stage of the customer's journey is essential for successful system integration.
McKinsey & Company, like other leading researchers, suggests that companies need to incorporate customer journeys into their operating models in four ways: (1) they must identify the journeys where they need to exceed expectations, (2) understand how they are currently performing in each of these journeys, (3) build multifunctional processes to redesign and support those journeys and (4) institute cultural change and continuous improvement to support scale-based initiatives.
As you seek to identify the key parts of the journey, the areas that are standing out above the competition that will make your business thrive, you need to look at all processes, as well as the various systems that interact with them, and analyze the improvements that can be made.
The various systems that manage the different aspects of functional processes do not need to change radically. However, what really needs to change is its ability to analyze data between different systems, and, most importantly, trigger processes between systems. Developing a real-time customer architecture to support customer experiences means covering multiple systems with triggers, alerts, alarms and escalations. This means that you need a systems integration solution that does more than just data integration, you need a solution capable of orchestrating business processes in real time.
Focus on the customer at all stages
An integration effort must be made to improve the overall efficiency of the organization and to bridge the gap between systems, with the aim of optimizing each stop along each customer journey. In addition to creating unnecessary work, process gaps cause tangible risks to the business. Suffering from these gaps makes organizations susceptible to human error; have slower response times; sustain the rising costs of the process; and suffer deterioration in employee satisfaction.
Integrating ERP and CRM systems is not only about collecting all the data, but also rationalizing customer service, order processing and sales administration. To avoid black holes in the customer journey, all the various IT systems related to all stages along the customer journey - product selection, purchase, delivery and customer service - must be connected. Rather than simply integrating CRM and ERP data, automating customer-related processes in IT systems is the best way to improve and optimize the customer experience.
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