The significance of a Single Customer View

Customers often face problems while dealing with the customer service of their banks, but topping their list is not getting a consistent answer to their queries. Isn't it a fair ask to expect the same response, same data, same information over any voice, electronic, social or branch channel? But why are banks not able to provide this consistency? Why can't conversations switch between channels without having to start at the beginning every time? Sounds familiar?

The culprit is the absence of a single customer view. A single customer view is a facility that makes static and dynamic inbound and outbound data pertaining to a customer across all applications, databases, channels and touch points in the enterprise, available to the user in real time. It's the bank employees' window to a single, accurate, consistent and complete sighting of the customer. 

A single view fortifies the relationship between the customer and the bank at every stage. To derive optimal returns on technology, banks should consider the complete channel environment they operate in. They should define the technology and level of data that should be made accessible to the customer at each touch point. And should establish the seamless manner in which these two need to integrate with one another to provide the same view across channels. If they get it right, banks can look forward to stronger relationships, advocacy and insightful information.