EXPERT RESPONSE
1.) "Garbage in, garbage out" still rules. Deep and wide insights
come from the greatest depth of available data and content. From the
CEO down to the individuals who interact with the customers -- what
they all need is better information. As Rod Walker, vice president for
Information Management in Hewlett Packard's Consulting and Integration
(C&I) group, says, "More and more, companies are becoming more fact
based, data driven, and analytically focused, in terms of how they are
running their businesses. So, they are using that to competitive
advantage." Bring as much data and content into the BI process, and
make sure that data is clean, up-to-date and credible.
2.) Strive for real-time analytics, and then apply the results
broadly to provide common and up-to-date views of business
intelligence insights. All the information needs to be provided from a
consistent multi-tiered data infrastructure for the enterprise, so
that all aspects of the business are, in effect, all operating off at
the same facts. The data that is used internally needs to be
consistent with the data that's provided externally, at the point of
contact with the business activity. For example, no matter how a
customer or prospect contacts your company, you want to have the same
analytics, the same class of offer or service to be presentable
through any channel, anytime, anywhere. If the customer walks in the
door, hits your website, calls the call center -- the same offer and
pitch should greet them. Common data at all points in the internal and
external processes is essential.
3.) Use BI to not only generate new business, but identify good
business from not-so-good business. Not all possible customers are the
best. But to be able to identify the customers most likely to use the
high-margin products/services or who will likely be long-term and
repeat buyers/users -- those are the ones to seek. So use your data
and BI to find the best customers and make them the best offers they
are most likely to buy on. Do you have that information collected in a
way that you can assess all those strategies and apply your judgments
to make your operational decisions appropriately? You have to be able
to get all the relevant data, not just the stuff that's easy, because
it's in the systems, to make decisions about gaining the largest share
of wallet from the most desirable customers and prospects.
"Many of the big, complex organizations we deal with are still
operating as collections of silos," says HP's Walker. "They are
typically, product based and geographically based, and both of those
things make it difficult for them to really understand all the
interactions they have with an individual customer. ... There's a lot
of different aspects to this. It starts with, and it's kind of basic,
just understanding your customer."
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