- \n
- What is a unified customer profile?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How does real-time data work?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The case for change<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The customer view<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Indian companies that found success with a unified customer view<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Why it’s important to have a unified customer profile<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How to build a unified customer profile<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
What is a unified customer profile?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A unified customer profile is a record that gives you a comprehensive view of your users – this includes visitors, customers, prospects, and subscribers – based on every interaction online or offline that they have with your company.
It gives every business team a single view of every customer. All customer data<\/a>, from any system, channel or stream, is harmonised in real time and powered by AI<\/a> to give you insights and the power to make personalised recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow does real-time data work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Real-time data is continually collected and translated into usable information the minute it is generated or received. Batch data processing occurs less frequently and on a set schedule, and is dependent on a series of sequences to process at set intervals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The case for change<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Organisations use an average of 1,061 apps<\/a> to run their business. Only 29% of these are integrated. This disconnect means that leaders cannot generate meaningful insights from all their data; in fact, 56% consumers expect all offers to be personalised<\/a>.There’s a huge gap<\/a> between the services businesses think they\u2019re delivering, and what they are actually delivering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The customer view<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
When businesses lack a single record of customer activity, their interactions can feel disconnected, outdated, and frustrating. Building a unified customer profile helps you deliver connected, relevant, and timely engagements that keep customers coming back and prevent repeating information or missing out on their needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indian companies that found success with a unified customer view<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Croma<\/a> unified customer data on Salesforce Data Cloud, empowering service teams with a 360-degree view across products, brands, and channels. With consistent, automated workflows and streamlined field operations, Croma delivered faster, personalised, and intelligent customer experiences, boosting satisfaction and loyalty in India\u2019s competitive retail space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Genpact<\/a> unified 100+ systems using MuleSoft, enabling more than 600 data flows and 45 reusable APIs for seamless integration across its tech landscape. Data Cloud consolidated five lakh data records into a single model, giving teams a real-time, 360-degree customer view. This powerful foundation helped streamline sales, marketing, talent, and sustainability processes, delivering smarter insights and faster outcomes. As a result, Genpact reduced internal staffing turnaround times by 2x, saved Rs 100 million in hiring costs, and improved employee retention. With Salesforce, Genpact is creating a scalable, AI-powered ecosystem that adapts, evolves, and drives sustainable growth for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\t\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\tTrailhead Quick Look<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
How can you unify all your customer data, across any channel and system and from any source, into a single record? Discover how on Trailhead, the free online learning platform from Salesforce.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\tGo to Trailhead<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/in\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/salesforce-blog\/dist\/images\/offer-block\/offer-illustration-layout-one.png\")
\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/in\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/salesforce-blog\/dist\/images\/offer-block\/offer-accent-layout-one.png\")
\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/in\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/salesforce-blog\/dist\/images\/offer-block\/offer-cloud-layout-one.png\")
\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\nWhy it’s important to have a unified customer profile<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The ways that customers interact with you are varied, numerous, and growing constantly. Each interaction not only triggers a different way to collect, process, and act on that data, but also creates a separate customer profile for the same customer! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Which of these profiles is the newest and most complete? It\u2019s impossible to know unless they are aggregated into a single record and updated in real time. When you don\u2019t have a complete picture of your customers: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- You send offers they don\u2019t want or need<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- You miss opportunities to send offers they do<\/em> want and need <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- You annoy customers by asking them to repeat information you likely already have<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
AI-powered unified profiles give you real-time visibility into all customer interactions (online, offline, mobile, social, etc.) so you can give them what they actually want, when they want it, instead of guessing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEffective journey orchestration with unified customer profiles that track user data in real time as they engage with various touch points can have a profound impact on customer satisfaction, dramatically reduce churn, and increase conversion,\u201d notes a white paper from Tata Consulting<\/a>, an IT consulting and services company. \u201cIn this digital age, a customer\u2019s profile can never be complete since new behavior traits keep emerging continually.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to build a unified customer profile<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Start by connecting your data sources<\/a> \u2014 marketing, sales, service, commerce \u2014 into a single record. How? Mulesoft<\/a> uses a combination of APIs<\/a>, cloud-based integration principles, and robotic process automation (RPA)<\/a> to pull data from all sources, including legacy systems. A customer relationship management (CRM) system where the apps that each team uses are connected<\/a> gives you better visibility into customer activity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another important step: storing the new masses of customer data in a data lake<\/a>house<\/a>, which is an integrated CRM system that connects easily to a data lake<\/a>, stores and harmonises data, and sends relevant information back to the customer\u2019s profile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is very different from conventional approaches, which Tata Consulting says \u201care incapable of capturing customer data from all systems and channels, cleansing, matching, merging and enriching customer profiles in real time.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because customer data comes from all corners of your company \u2014 marketing, sales, service and more \u2013 maintaining a unified view should be everyone\u2019s responsibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
- You annoy customers by asking them to repeat information you likely already have<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- How does real-time data work?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n