360° View of the Customer

Compilation of Customer Data

360 Degree View of the Customer refers to the compilation of all the data about a customer in one place. In gathering this data, you’re able to connect the dots between online behavior, offline behavior, thoughts, preferences, transaction data, etc. in a single view of the customer experience.

At RocketSource, we’ve extended this concept further to include the conjoint 360-degree view of the employee as it relates to the customer. In doing so, we’re able to better understand the employee experience as it relates to the organization’s deliverables — products, services, memberships, and otherwise — and leverage that experience to align the business with the customer.

Too Often, Customers Are Treated as Robots

Organizations assume each person moves mechanically through a predetermined set of touchpoints until they buy. This machine-like approach does not take into account how a person feels, their emotional states at every stage of that journey, or their cognitive associations of the brands they encounter. Even if the customer makes it through the purchase process with this linear state of affairs, the chances of them ever returning for a repeat purchase is slim to none.

The 360-degree view of a customer aims to help organizations grow deeper in their understanding of who the deliverables serve and what makes those customers ultimately buy time and again. It’s through that empathetic stance that organizations can maintain a long-term point of contact and build positive, deeply ingrained cognitive associations of a brand.

Organizations that focus building empathy with their customers through this 360-degree view are able to understand how the buyer aligns with the organization’s employee’s experience and expectations. This alignment is critical when it comes to developing experiences that the customer will remember and want to return to repeatedly.

The Bow Tie Funnel & the Customer’s Journey

To begin getting a full, 360-degree view of your customer, you must start by gaining an empathetic view of what your buyer is thinking, feeling, saying, and doing across each stage of the bow tie funnel.

This modern customer journey funnel spans two critical areas of the lifecycle of a customer — pre-purchase and post-purchase. Knowing the full picture of what’s happening as a whole, rather than at singular touchpoints alone, will help you better understand the end-to-end journey your buyer takes. This understanding allows you to know when you can swoop in and meet the customer’s needs across the entire journey.

The 360° View of Your Customer Requires Empathy

Integrating and ingraining an empathy-first approach in your organization requires deep analysis of who your buyer is and what makes them tick. More importantly, it requires an understanding of how those behavioral nuances align with what’s happening in your employee’s experience. Without the two overlapping, you’ll consistently miss the mark.

Understanding the emotional and logical needs of your customer allows you to anticipate their needs and focus your development cycles on what’s going to keep your organization relevant, no matter the macroeconomic backdrop.

The 360° View of Your Customer in Action

Empathy for your customer can be infused into nearly every part of your business to drive closer alignment between what you’re creating and what the full experience the customer anticipates and expects to receive. Here are just a few of the most critical use cases for better understanding the 360-degree view of your customer.

Develop Machine Learning Algorithms

Gaining a 360° view of the customer equips your organization to become more predictive. This in-depth analysis of a customer allows brands to discover multiple variables and thresholds that could impact a person’s decision to continue with the organization or move to a competitor. In doing so, teams can develop innovative techniques and machine learning models that will keep customers progressing through the bow tie funnel.

Orchestrate Loyalty-to-Purchase Loops

When it comes to understanding your customer’s journey, you cannot play a guessing game about their behaviors. Having a 360° view of your customer will help you better understand the emotional and logical triggers that they’re experiencing as they progress to purchase repeatedly from your organization.

Improve Employee Experience

It might seem counterintuitive to think that the 360° view of your customer can impact employee experience. Truth be told, the two are more intertwined than most organizations give credence to. When you and your team can understand what’s happening in the customer’s experience and mindset, problems can be proactively addressed or resolved faster. In keeping customers happier, employees can feel the impact of their work on a deeper level while simultaneously avoiding unnecessary conflict.

Operate More Intelligently

As you grow deeper in your understanding of your customer, you can get out ahead of their problems, concerns, issues, and fears. The 360° view of your customer allows you to better understand what your customer needs both today and tomorrow, which can guide your development process and business model. You can streamline your development cycles, keep teams laser-focused on the end experience and operate more intelligently as a whole.

Start the Conversation

Schedule a 30 minute Discovery call

Take the first step in unlocking your growth potential by scheduling a complimentary discovery call with our EVP Tom Jones. This introduction will better help us understand your pain points as you explore new data-driven strategies and uncover hidden growth opportunities.

Next Term

360° View of the Customer

Compilation of Customer Data

Too Often, Customers Are Treated as Robots

The Bow Tie Funnel & the Customer’s Journey

The 360° View of Your Customer Requires Empathy