Single Customer View (SCV): Definition & How to Build One

Understanding your customers has never been so easy. Instead of brainstorming, guessing, and testing different assumptions, you are welcome to leverage customer data analysis, gain insights into their behavior, preferences, and expectations, and use this information as a foundation for your business strategy development.

Creating the Single Customer View (SCV) is the first step along this way, and that's why in this article, we'll define an SCV meaning, explain why it's important, and provide a step-by-step guide on how to build one. Whether you're a marketer, data analyst, or business owner, this article will help you unlock the power of the Single Customer View.

What is a Single Customer View (SCV)?

So, what is a Single Customer View and what data does it contain? A Single Customer View or SCV is a structured and unified representation of the information you have about a specific customer. This data is usually collected from multiple sources and includes all interactions, transactions, and engagements a customer has with a business across all channels and touchpoints, as well as personal information, like birthdate, age, and contact data.

Here's a simple example of how an SCV might look like using Python:

All these unstructured pieces of information are consolidated in a single place, for instance, in a customer data platform. To put it simply, an SCV is like each of your customer's profiles that provide you with a 360-degree view of customer data and can be used to enhance the clients experience, personalize marketing efforts, and improve customer engagement and loyalty.

Types of Data in SCV

A robust Customer Data Platform, like Yespo, for example, can collect data from a wide variety of channels, including but not limited to the business website and mobile app, advertising networks and email marketing platforms, CRM software, and in-store POS. All this information can be classified into the next types of data in SCV.

• CRM and customer data. This type of data in unified customer profiles includes information that businesses collect directly from customers, such as their name, contact information, purchase history, and customer service interactions. This data is typically stored in a CRM system.

• Transactional data. As the name suggests, this data array contains information about customers’ purchases, returns, and refunds. It can also include data on payment methods, shipping details, and order history.

• Behavioral data. Behavioral data includes information on customers’ interactions with your business, such as website visits, email opens, clicks, and social media engagement. This type of SCV data is usually collected through omnichannel marketing automation tools or web analytics platforms.

Key Benefits of Creating a Single Customer View

Now, after we have discovered what is a Single Customer View, let's proceed with the benefits of building a customer profile in an SCV form. Below are the main advantages of an SCV for business.

• Personalization and improved digital experience. An SCV allows businesses to personalize their in-store, web, and mobile marketing efforts by understanding customer behavior, preferences, and purchase history. This leads to more relevant and targeted marketing campaigns, which can result in increased customer engagement and loyalty.

• Data-supported growth opportunities. An SCV provides companies with customer data-driven insights on their needs and expectations, allowing the companies to adjust their products or services accordingly, stay better competitive and future-proof their business. According to Experian research, 8 out of 10 companies consider SVC an effective tool to improve sales, plus cross-sell and up-sell more relevant products or services. <

• Increased efficiency and collaboration. As a rule, an omnichannel CPD (Customer Data Platform) eliminates the need for manual data entry and reduces the time and effort required to access customer data. With such a solution, businesses can gain actionable insights faster and at a lower cost. Plus, sales and marketing teams can access, manage and analyze customer data in a single place which improves collaboration significantly.

• Enhanced security. In addition, an SCV allows businesses to store customer data in a secure and centralized location, which can help reduce the risk of data breaches.

At the same time, there are no benefits without challenges. Let's take a look at the most common issues companies face when developing a unified view of a customer.

4 Common Challenges Faced While Creating an SCV

Below are some of the most common problems that may arise when building a Single Customer View.

1. Data quality. One of the biggest challenges of creating an SCV is ensuring the accuracy and completeness of the data. Data may be incomplete, outdated, or inconsistent across different sources, which can lead to errors and inaccuracies in the SCV.

2. Data integration. Integrating data from multiple sources into a single location can be a complex and time-consuming process, especially if the data is stored in different formats or systems.

3. Data governance. Businesses need to establish clear data governance policies and procedures to ensure that data is collected, stored, and used in compliance with regulations and best practices.

4. Data security. Ensuring data security is another crucial challenge businesses face when creating a Single View of a Customer. It is necessary to ensure that customer data is stored securely by limiting access to sensitive data, encrypting it, and monitoring potential threats. Opting for a reliable customer data platform like Yespo is also a proven way to ensure data security, accessibility, and data governance policies compliance.

Single Customer View: Use Cases

One of the best things about creating a Single Customer View is that it allows for gaining valuable customer insights regardless of the business niche. Below are some examples of how an SCV can be used across industries:

eCommerce

An online retailer can use an SCV to personalize product recommendations and promotions based on a customer's browsing and purchase history. The retailer can also use the SCV to gather data from tracking customer behavior across different channels, such as social media and email marketing, and optimize marketing campaigns. For example, Umico, an eCommerce marketplace increased its sales by 1,5 times by targeting its promo campaigns at different user segments and using several communication channels.

Banking

A Single View of the Customer is also a powerful tool for financial institutions that helps them understand customers’ preferences and spending habits better. Being guided by this data, a bank can provide better-personalized services, especially if an institution leverages artificial intelligence for customer data analysis, providing personalized money management advice, payments automation, and fraud detection.

Entertainment

Using a Customer Single View in the entertainment industry enables business owners to take their visitors’ experience to the next level. For example, a cinema can leverage the SCV to consolidate data from social media and ticket sales history to deliver better-personalized entertaining content. Multiplex, one of the biggest cinema chains in Ukraine, increased their sales by up to 50% after leveraging our omnichannel marketing platform. They tailored their marketing messages to users’ locations, then run targeted campaigns with personalized offerings and gathered customer feedback in an automated mode.

Healthcare and pharmaceutical industries

In addition to the industries above, a Single Consumer View can also be used in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. For instance, one of the leading pharmacy chains in Ukraine leveraged the Yespo customer data platform to boost their marketing efforts efficiency across several channels. After building a Single Customer Profile, they create an omnichannel campaign to reduce abandoned cart and abandoned view rates, encourage the customers to complete a purchase after a price drop, and reactivate churns. As a result, they increased sales by up to 87% with the help of rich messaging and by 34% via emails with personalized triggers. 

How To Create A Single Customer View: A Step-by-Step Guide 

Now, let's find out how to create an SCV with Yespo. Yespo CDP features allow businesses to collect customer data across different channels, clean and standardize it, and unify it into a single customer profile. Our platform provides advanced segmentation capabilities that enable businesses to create targeted campaigns based on customer behavior and preferences. To create a single customer view using Yespo, you are welcome to follow the next steps.

Identify the data sources

The first step is to identify all the data sources that contain customer data, such as CRM systems, transactional databases, social media platforms, and website analytics tools. Once the data sources have been identified, the next step is to extract the customer data from each source. This can be done using various methods, such as APIs, database queries, or file exports. When using Yespo, you should connect your website and mobile app, plus import your contacts.

Extract data

Once the data sources have been identified, the next step is to extract the customer data from each source. This can be done using various methods, such as APIs, database queries, or file exports. When using Yespo, you should connect your website and mobile app, plus import your contacts.

Clean and standardize the data

After extracting the data, it is important to cleanse and standardize it to ensure consistency and accuracy. This involves removing duplicates, correcting errors, and standardizing data formats.

Integrate the data

The next step is to integrate the customer data from different sources into a single view. Use Yespo's CDP to integrate the data into a single location, ensuring that the data is properly linked to each customer's profile.

Enrich the data

Once the data has been integrated, it is important to enrich it with additional information, such as demographic information, behavioral data, and external data sources. This can provide a more complete picture of the customer and enable more personalized marketing efforts.

Visualize and analyze the data

Use Yespo's segmentation features to analyze the data and gain insights into customer behavior and preferences.

Conclusion

A Single Customer View (SCV) is a powerful tool that can provide businesses with a 360-degree view of each customer. While creating an SCV from scratch can be a complex process, the benefits are worth the opportunity to get a customer-driven insight into their needs, adjust accordingly and get a competitive edge.

Fortunately, building a Single Customer View can be less difficult if you leverage a powerful customer data platform with the necessary SCV features in-built. For instance, with Yespo, you can create an SCV semi-automatically by exporting your data from multiple sources and organizing it within a single dashboard. What's more, Yespo's features go beyond creating a Single Customer View. With our platform, you can create and launch personalized marketing campaigns, provide relevant product recommendations, develop event-based marketing workflows, and revolutionize your business by going omnichannel.

Whether you are a small business or a large enterprise, Yespo can help you harness the power of customer data and take your marketing efforts to the next level. Schedule a quick demo call today and experience the benefits of a powerful customer data platform.