Is MDM The 'Secret Sauce' For CRM 2.0?
Guest Post by
Jakki Geiger, Director, MDM Marketing, Informatica
CRM 1.0 sounded good in theory. Deploy a CRM system, achieve a 360-degree customer view, and watch your sales and customer loyalty metrics soar.
Just one problem. In too many cases, CRM 1.0 forgot about the data. Untold numbers of multimillion-dollar CRM systems failed to live up to their potential because they were undermined by duplicate customer data, incorrect customer data, inconsistent customer data and incomplete customer data.
Now CRM 2.0 is under way, and data quality is in the spotlight. Large numbers of companies are opting for cloud-based CRM system, whether with salesforce.com or another software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider. Mindful of the data lessons of CRM 1.0, companies aim to get the data right this time.
The "secret sauce" for CRM 2.0 is master data management (MDM), believes John Radcliffe, a veteran Gartner analyst. In a recent article at mycustomer.com, Radcliffe addressed how MDM is emerging as a core principle for CRM 2.0, especially cloud-based systems and those that endeavor to leverage customer data via social media channels such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
We at Informatica completely agree with Gartner. We've seen increasing customer demand for cloud-based data management as well as interest in incorporating social media data into a 360-degree customer view. Informatica CMO Chris Boorman recently recorded a video on the role of social media data in CRM 2.0 that I think you'd find interesting.
Though social media data for CRM 2.0 is cutting edge (for now), MDM has become a proven technology and discipline that delivers the trusted, complete customer data that companies need for effective cross-sell and up-sell and enhanced customer loyalty, whether on-premise or in the cloud. Soon enough, we expect this sauce won't be so secret, but rather a foundational element of CRM 2.0.
