How to Achieve a Single Customer View (SCV) in Dynamics 365

How to Achieve a Single Customer View in Dynamics 365

A Single Customer View (SCV), sometimes called a 360-degree view gathers all the data about each of your Contacts and merges them into one golden record providing a consistent and comprehensive view of your customers and prospects.

With this comprehensive and consolidated SCV of your Contacts, you get a powerful overview of their every interaction with your company.

Dynamics 365 Single Customer View (SCV)

A Single Customer View in Dynamics 365 enhances your customer experience and relationships by providing consistent interactions across customer touchpoints and departments.

Often organizations have multiple records for the same Contact in several applications. To achieve a Single Customer View (SCV), these records need to be integrated, consolidated, duplicate-free, and accurate to create a unified and comprehensive profile of each customer (Single Customer View).

This helps organizations provide personalized and seamless customer experiences.

Here's a step-by-step guide to achieving a Single Customer View (SCV) in Dynamics 365.

Data Audit and Mapping:
Begin by identifying all the sources of customer data within your organization, such as CRM systems, marketing platforms, sales databases, support systems, etc. Create an inventory of data fields and attributes related to customers. This step ensures you understand what data you have and where it resides.

Data Integration:
Integrate data from different sources into Dynamics 365. This can involve using tools like Azure Data Factory or Power Automate to automate data transfer and synchronization. APIs and connectors can also be used to link various systems together.

Data Cleansing and Deduplication:
Cleanse and standardize the data to eliminate inconsistencies, errors, and duplicates. Dynamics 365 provides tools to merge duplicate records and ensure that the SCV is accurate or use 3rd party data management tools like Paribus 365™ which offers a suite of data cleansing and duplicate prevention tools.

Master Data Management (MDM):
Implement a master data management strategy to govern how customer data is created, updated, and maintained across systems. This helps maintain data quality and consistency over time.

360-Degree Customer Profile:
Utilize the capabilities of Dynamics 365 to create a comprehensive customer profile. This profile should include information such as contact details, purchase history, interactions, preferences, and more.

Data Enrichment:
Enhance the Dynamics 365 SCV by integrating third-party data sources to provide additional insights about customers, such as social media activity, firmographics, and more. Tools like Azure Cognitive Services can help in extracting meaningful insights from unstructured data.

Permissions and Compliance:
Ensure that your data integration and consolidation processes adhere to data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA). Implement proper consent management and data access controls to protect customer privacy.

Real-time Data Sync:
Implement mechanisms for real-time or near-real-time data synchronization across systems. This ensures that the Dynamics 365 Single Customer View is up-to-date and accurate, enabling timely and personalized interactions.

Analytics and Reporting:
Leverage analytics tools within Dynamics 365 CE to gain insights from the SCV. Analyze customer behaviors, trends, and preferences to make informed business decisions.

Regular Maintenance and Updates:
The process of achieving and maintaining an SCV is ongoing. Regularly audit and update the data, monitor the effectiveness of your SCV strategy, and adapt to changing customer needs and technology advancements.

Employee Training:
Train your employees to understand the importance of the SCV and how to use it effectively. Provide training on data entry standards and best practices to ensure the Single Customer View in Dynamics 365 remains accurate.

Continuous Improvement:
Keep refining your SCV strategy based on user feedback, technological advancements, and changing business needs. The goal is to continuously enhance the customer experience and drive business growth.

Remember that achieving an effective Single Customer View (SCV) is not a one-time task but an ongoing effort that requires coordination between various departments and a commitment to maintaining data accuracy and integrity.