In 2016, while my wife and I were planning a beach getaway in New York, we hit a snag with our car rental. Despite our efforts, we found ourselves stranded without wheels due to unhelpful customer service and a lack of available vehicles. In a famous episode of Seinfeld, Jerry says, “You know how to take the reservation, you just don’t know how to hold the reservation.”

The frustrating experience culminated in a generic follow-up email, which felt more like a punchline to a bad joke than a genuine attempt at customer engagement. It was clear that their automated marketing had led to a broken customer journey, leaving us with a sour taste and them with a lost customer for life.

Many marketers are overcomplicating their work and harming the customer experience in the process.

They will develop or purchase a Customer Data Platform (CDP) to combine data from multiple collection tools to create a single centralized customer database containing data on all touch points and interactions with their product or service.

But most CDPs fail to deliver on their promise, according to a Forrester report. The research firm found that only 10% of CDP owners feel their CDP meets all needs although another 26% say it meets most needs, another 35% say it meets some needs. Less than half (45%) actually say it failed to meet expectations.

To address these shortfalls, marketers will add a Multichannel Marketing Hub (MMH) to aid with Customer Journey Orchestration (CJO). To deliver the expected benefits, however, the CDP and MMH must be seamlessly integrated. When acquiring or attempting to build these pieces separately, there can be a host of integration issues that result in fragmented, poor, customer experiences and disjointed marketing efforts. True magic happens when a CDP and MMH are seamlessly integrated. This is where a unified CRM platform, with seamlessly integrated MMH and CDP capabilities, shines.

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Such a platform offers a host of benefits:

1. Seamless Data Integration: A robust CDP integrates with all relevant marketing channels, ensuring that data from every touchpoint is captured accurately.
2. Unified Customer Profiles: Gone are the days of fragmented customer profiles. A unified platform consolidates data from various channels, providing marketers with a holistic view of each customer’s preferences and interactions.
3. Personalized Messaging: Today’s customers crave individualized experiences. With integrated CDP and MMH capabilities, marketers can deliver tailored messages across multiple channels, fostering deeper engagement and loyalty.

Pitfalls of Disconnected Data

The pitfalls of disconnected data are numerous:

• Fragmented CX: Siloed systems result in inconsistent customer experiences, as disjointed messaging and conflicting content leave customers feeling confused and alienated.
• Missed Personalization Opportunities: Without seamless integration, marketing teams may overlook valuable customer interactions, leading to lost opportunities for meaningful engagement.
• Campaign Inefficiencies: Duplication of efforts becomes the norm as marketers struggle to coordinate messages across disparate channels, resulting in inefficiencies and wasted resources.
• Loss of Trust: Customers expect brands to understand their needs and preferences. Disconnected data erodes trust, as customers feel their data is mishandled or undervalued.

Conclusion

Implementing the strategies outlined above enables marketers to ensure seamless synergy between their CDP and MMH systems, fostering a cohesive and captivating customer journey that epitomizes effective Customer Journey Orchestration. The harmonious integration of a CDP within an MMH is crucial for enhancing customer engagement. Emphasizing data integration, unified customer profiles, and personalized messaging cultivates an immersive customer experience, leading to tangible improvements in customer satisfaction.

The correlation between companies’ CX ratings and revenue growth is substantial. According to a McKinsey analysis, CX leaders in the United States achieved more than double the revenue growth of CX laggards between 2016 and 2021. Moreover, CX leaders rebounded more swiftly from the COVID-19 pandemic than their counterparts.

McKinsey underscores that a 20% increase in customer satisfaction can yield significant financial benefits, including a 15 to 25% boost in cross-sell rates, a 5 to 10% increase in share of wallet, and a 20 to 30% enhancement in customer satisfaction and engagement.

The rental car company failed to orchestrate my journey effectively, resulting in a final communication mishap that led to them losing a customer for life. Despite the disappointment of not having a car that weekend, if the company had reached out to me with a sincere apology for the inconvenience and offered compensation towards a future rental, they could have turned lemons into lemonade. Instead, I was left with a sour taste.

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