When customers interact with your organization across multiple touchpoints, it can be tough to know how to best utilize and process that data to get the most value out of it. While data can be collated and siphoned into different tables and sheets, even this can be challenging to understand as part of a wider customer journey.
This is something organizations continue to struggle with. Recent research shows that the number of customers who think their data is being used to a business’ advantage dropped from 60% in 2022, to just 49% in 2024. Poorly managed data disrupts the customer journey and in turn reduces the effectiveness of any customer-focused campaigns or KPIs.
In order to fully personalize the customer journey, a Customer 360 is a viable and effective way to build a rounded picture of the people who interact with your enterprise on a daily basis. But what is a Customer 360? And what’s the best way to implement one effectively? In this detailed guide, we’ll discuss exactly that.
What is a Customer 360 & how do you create one?
A Customer 360 is the title given to a framework which draws on existing data models and tables, then collates them together in one centralized location. This single, unified and actionable profile makes it simpler and more streamlined to understand the pain points and motives of your customers.
The actionable insights which can be created with the use of one of these tools help to ensure a business is able to understand their customers via a single source of truth. This centralization of data helps to eliminate fragmentation and siloes, ensuring accuracy when both personalizing customer experiences and optimizing business processes.
Key components of a Customer 360:
In order to create a total and rounded view of customers, several different components can be drawn on to create a profile. Some common elements which should ideally be drawn on are:
Data collection
Pulling customer data together from a variety of sources is one of the most important aspects of any Customer 360 framework. This is the starting point for customer analysis, drawing on anything from customer contact details to their past purchasing and banking decisions.
Data integration
In order for data to be properly understood, disparate sources need to be brought together and integrated into one singular view.
Data processing
Data needs to be transformed from unusable to usable via a curating system. When raw information is processed, it’s restructured in a way that makes it simpler to organize, understand and draw valuable insight from.
Touchpoint mapping
Understanding the motives and actions of any customer is crucial for a successful Customer 360. Touchpoint mapping allows you to track engagement through a series of channels, such as social media, e-commerce platforms, and online banking.
Account and contact management
Anticipating customer interactions is made significantly easier by centralizing account and personal information.
Identity resolution
Quickly and accurately deducing the identity of any customer reaching out to you is pivotal for enhancing security measures, as well as creating a unified customer perspective.
Profile assessment
Assessing profiles gives you the chance to see if your customer data is complete or accurate.
Data enrichment
This provides an opportunity to decide whether what’s being collected is relevant. It also helps to ensure the depth of your data.
Why is a Customer 360 important?
A Customer 360 is vital for improving the quality of the data which is collected from customers and clients. But what does that look like in a more tangible sense? Here are some of the most important aspects of any system:
Combine and standardize data sources
Efficient and effective customer management can only be achieved with accurate and consistent data. A Customer 360 enables this, providing a singular view via the syncing of information across multiple data channels and internal IT systems.
External data integration
Data can be drawn from external sources with this kind of data framework, making it possible to standardize it effectively. This in turn helps to create a more rounded view of a customer beyond the internal data which was previously relied on.
Enhanced data quality
Housing this data in one location will also help to consolidate and even correct existing data which is spread across various systems. This can help to tidy up issues such as inconsistencies with names and addresses, making it easier to quickly identify a customer accurately.
Reduced data redundancies
A Customer 360 can also detect and combine records which have been duplicated in the system. This helps to merge or delete the unnecessary entry, lowering clutter.
In the dark about your customers?
How to create a Customer 360
In order to utilize this system to its fullest potential, you’ll want to make sure you’re creating Customer 360 platforms that will deliver everything you need from it. In order to achieve that, it’s vital to follow these steps:
- 1. Identify sources
The first step when creating a data framework of this nature is to draw on all the sources of data which will be relevant. That includes both internal and external sources. This is also a good time to set specific goals if you have any in mind. What wider purpose will the data collection serve?
- 2. Clean and standardize data
Data needs to be corrected and standardized to ensure both accuracy and completeness. This might involve implementing protocols to guarantee data is consistent, as well as removing duplicates and correcting errors.
- 3. Integrate the data
At this point data can be moved to the location where your Customer 360 is going to sit. This might be a data warehouse or a centralized system.
- 4. Create single customer profiles
At this stage it should be possible to create a rounded customer profile. This profile needs to include all information which is relevant to your enterprise, as well as basic information such as demographics, contact details, and transaction or interaction history.
- 5. Establish governance
Introducing governance policies ensures data accuracy, completeness, security, and privacy. This might also include the introduction of a regular schedule to monitor data hygiene – which is the most effective way to ensure discrepancies or errors don’t appear.
- 6. Evaluate and improve
Once a system has been established, it shouldn’t be allowed to sit and fester. Regular assessment and tweaks are vital in making sure that Customer 360 platforms are providing the information needed to make informed and accurate decisions.
What are the benefits of implementing a Customer 360?
Introducing a Customer 360 can have a transformative benefit to customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, and wider profitability. Here are some of the biggest benefits which you’ll experience by implementing one:
Customer engagement and retention
By improving your understanding of customer motives and actions, churn rates take a significant hit. It’s easier to build a loyal customer base when the wants and needs of those you’re interacting with are fully understood. This helps to garner stronger relationships, with it possible to more succinctly personalize customer experiences.
Customer experience
Data saved from past interactions or purchasing habits can make it easier to understand the motives of the customer themselves. This could extend from anything such as more personalized forms of communication, to specific product or service recommendations based on past engagement.
Data quality
The Customer 360 creation and ongoing monitoring process relies heavily on accurate and good quality data. Having a system like this in place not only prompts an organization to create an initial platform which cleanses data, but also sees the continued enforcement of governance rules which manage and monitor ongoing data hygiene.
Revenue enhancement
At its core, a Customer 360 exists to heighten revenue and sales performance. By achieving this comprehensive view of customers, enterprises are able to cross-sell and up-sell more poignantly. What’s more, an increase in customer satisfaction is also likely to generate repeat purchases, further improving revenue.
Operational efficiency
By its very nature, the streamlining and centralization of several different internal and external datasets helps an organization to operate more efficiently. By creating a single source of truth, a Customer 360 is able to heighten accuracy while also making it easier for different departments within an organization to collaborate and work in tandem. For example, sales and marketing efforts can be unified to first create a campaign that generates leads, before a sales team uses information from any single customer view to best target individuals.
What are the challenges of implementing a Customer 360?
Just as with any analytical framework, there can be hurdles that have to be navigated when implementing a Customer 360. Here are some of the issues which an enterprise might face during any implementation phase:
Estimates show that individual teams within organizations can use as many as 45 different operating systems and software apps on a daily basis. With so many sources to draw from, the sheer volume of withdrawing data from these silos into one centralized location can sometimes prove an immense challenge.
In the age of digital storage, businesses have a heightened responsibility to ensure that the private information of their customers is kept hidden. Creating a Customer 360 involves transferring and consolidating information across systems, which increases the chance of non-compliance and potential data breaches.
While the purpose of a Customer 360 is to reduce these kinds of issues, they can inherently make it much harder to create the framework to begin with. Duplicate entries might not always be caught, which can sometimes lead to inconsistent data reporting.
Legacy applications can also be a deterrent when creating a Customer 360. They might pose heightened security risks, limit the flexibility of moving or transferring data, or struggle to integrate with newer systems or applications.
When different teams or departments operate using their own tools (potentially with different goals or priorities), it can be a challenge to align every silo within an organization. Without these shared goals, data and wider business goals will remain fragmented.
Customer 360 use cases
It might be hard to understand how these kinds of platforms are able to be used in a way that will have a tangible impact on an organization. By understanding the following use cases, it might be easier to envision how one of these frameworks could be beneficial:
In marketing
A comprehensive Customer 360 can help marketing efforts across a number of areas, with it able to streamline audience segmentation, personalization, and ad optimization. Personalized recommendations are an effective way to target clients, while customers at different stages of a sales funnel or service usage can be offered specific deals to encourage a conversion.
In sales
Understanding a prospect’s history makes it easier to approach them with offers and messages that will resonate. Creating this personal connection is likely to increase customer satisfaction and relationships. By contrast, approaching someone with information which seems generic can isolate them, hurting the customer relationship if they feel like they’re being spoken to as though they were a stranger.
In business leadership
Business leaders thrive when they have a clear picture of their customer behaviors and motives. Knowing where and when money may dip in or out of a revenue funnel can be transformative for wider business success. A Customer 360 allows you to accurately forecast, prepare and channel resources, and generate higher revenue thanks to the greater level of insight that’s provided.
In finance
In the world of finance, a Customer 360 can have a monumental impact across a number of different areas. Aside from the enhanced customer experience and personalized marketing campaigns which it makes possible, this data framework can also provide advanced fraud protection, improve credit risk assessment, and ensure that regulatory compliance is followed at all times.
The future outlook for Customer 360s
As we continue to adapt and evolve as a society, so too does the way in which we look at and analyze data. That is just as true with a Customer 360 as it is with any other kind of analytical tool.
While it’s impossible to know with certainty what the future of Customer 360s might look like, there are trends and contributing growth factors which many think will have an impact. Some of the most pertinent are:
Artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Most organizations have already begun to see the impact that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can have on day-to-day operations. The automation which these tools bring is theorized to further heighten the personalization element of a Customer 360, with AI and ML helping to identify trends and habits in a matter of seconds.
Cross-industry adoption
While a popular asset in some sectors, Customer 360 platforms have not been uniformly adopted across all industries. As the impact of hyper-personalized customer relationships continues to show its worth, it’s likely that many sectors that are yet to fully utilize this tool will become late adopters.
Cloud based solutions
With more data needing to be stored than at any point before, the reliance on cloud based technology will become more of a factor. These solutions tend to be more scalable, making them an increasingly popular option for organizations looking for more robust ways to manage their customer data.
Data privacy and security
Customer 360 platforms make it easier to comply with and provide governance on security regulations. That’s because they accurately track and report on the actions of clients, while also making it significantly easier to detect fraud via identity tracing. At a time when businesses are making security and privacy concerns more of a priority than ever, this additional aspect of the Customer 360 framework will serve to make it more appealing.
Real-time data analytics
The real-time analytical abilities of a Customer 360 will also continue to see it soar in popularity. These kinds of features make the platform a key driver of growth, helping organizations to make calculated and immediate decisions which help generate revenue.
How Quantexa helps organizations build a 360-degree customer view
At Quantexa, we make processing and understanding your data simple and effective. We’ll be able to walk you through each step of creating a Customer 360 view, ensuring you’re able to generate a consistent data backbone for flexible corporate hierarchy views.
Our process relies on entity resolution to draw on both internal and external data for your client entities, before siphoning this into a concentrated single view with accurate information. Dynamic networks then allow you to filter via customizable hierarchies, helping you to prioritize the subsets of data which will have the biggest impact.
We’ll finish by providing graph analytics, which allows you to score your client network for both opportunity and risk based factors. These graphs can be updated and filtered via real-time analytics, meaning you’re able to immediately identify the changes of interest and trigger proactive client or prospect engagement.
If you’re interested in learning more about how Quantexa’s approach to Customer 360s could be right for you, we encourage you to request a demo today.
Customer 360 FAQs
Customer 360s are one of the most effective and efficient ways to create a rounded and thorough overview of your clients. If there’s more you’d like to learn about how they work, as well as the positive impact they can have, make sure to read our additional FAQs.
What is the differentiation between CRM and a Customer 360?
A customer relationship management (CRM) system shares a lot of similarities with Customer 360 tools, but they’re not the same. CRM can be thought of as one component of a Customer 360. It primarily focuses on tracking sales, marketing, and service activities, which means that it usually gets siloed within wider sales and marketing efforts.
Customer 360 platforms provide a more holistic view of a customer, serving to break down where and how they interact with an organization across multiple touchpoints.
How does Customer 360 relate to patient 360, citizen 360, enterprise 360?
Customer 360, Patient 360, Citizen 360, and Enterprise 360 are all variations of the same core concept: creating a comprehensive, unified view of an individual or entity by bringing together data from multiple systems and touchpoints.
Customer 360 focuses on understanding customers – combining sales, marketing, support, and behavioural data to improve engagement, retention, and personalization.
Patient 360 applies the same idea in healthcare, integrating medical records, treatment history, and real-time monitoring data to support better clinical decisions and patient outcomes.
Citizen 360 is used by governments to unify data from public services, enabling more efficient service delivery and personalised citizen experiences.
Enterprise 360 takes a broader organisational view, connecting operational, financial, and employee data to support strategic planning and decision-making.
In short, they all use the same foundational approach – aggregating and analyzing data for a full, contextual understanding – but differ in who or what they focus on (customer, patient, citizen, or the organisation itself).
How could Customer 360 inform predictive analysis?
By bringing together Customer 360 data for identification, categorisation, and pattern recognition, businesses can enhance their feature stores and improve predictive analytics. This supports time-series, clustering, geospatial, statistical, and machine learning models — helping to uncover buying patterns, detect anomalies, and predict customer churn.
Are all Customer 360s the same?
While the core premise of all Customer 360s is to provide a detailed and rounded, real-time view of customer behaviours and information, there are a variety of different priorities which they can be used to target. The primary difference will be the scope and intended implementation of the platform.
Factors which can cause a difference in the the use of a Customer 360 include things like:
Definition and scope
Data inclusivity
Technical implementations
Purpose and use cases
Ultimately, how you choose to use one will revolve around your organization’s business goals and metrics.
Do you have a better understanding of what a Customer 360 platform is and how it might benefit your organization? Keep this transformative data framework in mind if you’re considering different ways to better tap into and improve relations with your customer base.