MDM is the Foundation for Intelligent Engagement

Time and again, experts say that customer experience (CX) is the new battlefield for companies and brands. Considering, “52 percent of consumers have switched providers in the past year due to poor customer service,” [1] it’s undeniable.

For businesses undergoing data-driven digital transformation, one of the key drivers for success is incorporating master data management (MDM) into the overall CX strategy. This winning combination creates a 360-degree view of the customer, which is crucial for building a customer-centric business and outmaneuvering the competition in the battle for customer loyalty.

Today’s sophisticated consumers set a high bar. They don’t have patience for subpar customer experiences – especially when it’s due to faulty data. With fundamental errors running rampant, such as invoices arriving at previous addresses or payments applied to the wrong accounts, these consumers switch providers without an ounce of apprehension.

This scene plays out across countless enterprises, both large and small. Even some of the biggest brands struggle with duplicate, conflicted and disparate data from siloed systems. Business leaders know their data must be relevant and trustworthy for operations to run smoothly, yet many haven’t focused on the management of their business-critical data using MDM and data governance. Consequently, connecting data to the right customers and building a comprehensive customer profile is virtually impossible.

Today, those winning at CX know that MDM is an integral part in succeeding a hyper-competitive marketplace. They understand that customer centricity requires strategically employing technologies, such as MDM, which provide the versatility for them to move at the pace of the ever-evolving demands from modern consumers. Scott Galloway, CEO and founder of L2 (now part of Gartner), said it best, “The future doesn’t belong to the big – it belongs to the fast.” [2]

The commitment to keeping up with today’s consumers begins with unifying and reconciling disparate information across application silos to build an accurate view of the customer. At its beginnings, MDM unified and reconciled this critical contact data, such as name, phone numbers, postal and email addresses across multiple systems and applications. But today, MDM focuses well beyond basic contact information.