It may sound harsh, but your customers don’t care how your system works; instead, they’re most concerned with how well it works, how enjoyable it is to use, and how it makes them feel. When your internal systems are disconnected, the customer experience suffers. For service-based businesses, maintaining a single source of truth is, therefore, non-negotiable.
The Case for Unification
Business leaders and teams accustomed to using disjointed systems are skilled at citing reasons why unification is unnecessary. After all, as the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Still, some other common objections include the following:
- The software is cost-prohibitive
- There isn’t enough staff to implement new tech
- Changing platforms will disrupt the business
- Current processes are “good enough” or “just fine”
The truth, though, is that the concept of “good enough” doesn’t have a place in modern service businesses. Disparate tools create significant problems, such as:
- Redundant data entry
- Delays in onboarding and billing
- Inaccurate reporting
- Siloed teams
- Wasted time jumping between platforms and tracking down the root cause of errors
A unified platform, on the other hand, will bring all of your customer-facing functions into one place, allowing you to do the following:
- Promote seamless handoffs from sales to delivery
- Achieve end-to-end visibility for customers and internal teams
- Track performance in real-time
- Provide proactive support
With actionable and timely insights, you can bridge the gap between your sales, marketing, and service teams to create frictionless journeys for your staff and customers.
Benefits of a Unified Platform
A unified service platform provides undeniable benefits for everyone involved, from your business and its employees to your customers. Namely, a unified platform facilitates the following:
- Faster Time to Value: Streamlined onboarding accelerates project kickoffs
- Improved Forecast Accuracy: Connected data across departments improves forecasting capabilities
- Better Customer Experience: Transparency and collaboration lead to happier customers
Tearing down data silos gives you access to timely, relevant insights about business performance and the customer journey, thus allowing you to identify concerning trends sooner and make improvements to protect your bottom line.
Unified Journeys in Action
There are many ways in which unified data can create a better, more cohesive experience for customers. Here are a few examples:
- The sales team closes a deal, triggering onboarding tasks to simplify the customer’s enrollment process
- Delivery teams see contract details so they can meet agreed-upon deadlines
- Finance team members generate invoices based on tracked milestones
- Customer success staff monitor service usage and trigger renewal milestones from the shared dashboard
These are just a few ways to automate and simplify customer interactions with a unified view. Ultimately, such an approach has two goals: capitalize on customer intent when it is at its peak and reduce attrition through proactive communications.
How to Move from Fragmented to Fluid
When all stakeholders work off the same dataset, miscommunication is reduced, and performance improves. Operational clarity is crucial for fast-growing service firms that manage complex client needs.
Take an honest assessment of your customer journey. If there are gaps, you’ll need to fill them with a combination of training, revised policies, and the right technologies. That last component is the most important, as it empowers your team members to follow company policies and use their skills to better serve customers.
What is the right technology? The answer is Certinia: A Salesforce-native cloud-based ERP and professional services automation platform.
Eliminate Data Silos with Singularity Consulting
Singularity Consulting’s team of Certinia experts can identify the ideal solutions for your business and deliver a frictionless implementation journey. Our professionals assist with technology selection, planning, rollout, and post-deployment support.
Contact us today to learn more about unlocking the full potential of your data with Certinia, the ideal platform for building better service journeys and uniting your data.
