Thread by @Gartner_inc

#GartnerMKTG Happening now: Unicorns, Rainbows and Customer 360, Oh My! The Myths and Legends of Unifying Your Customer #Data

Follow along here for key insights and updates from the session.

#DigitalMarketing leaders hope that a 360-degree view of the customer will unify cross-functional data in their organizations to drive #personalization and retention.

In reality, just 14% of organizations achieve a 360-degree view, pushing their investment strategies up against insurmountable technical and organizational challenges.

In this session you'll learn to:
- Question your assumption that a 360-degree view of the customer is even necessary
- Descope over-ambitious efforts and reclaim resources for more practical investments
- Develop specific and achievable use cases for integrating customer data

It won't happen overnight, but here's what we predict between now and 2026.

Questions to ask yourself:
1. Is a 360-degree view of the customer even necessary?
2. How can you rethink investments in customer data efforts?
3. What are specific and achievable use cases for integrating customer data?

What is a 360-degree view, anyway?

Assembling the 360-degree view is nonlinear...

… And has diminishing returns to scale.

Why is this? Simple. Because of friction. In other words, the more you chase it, the harder it gets.

So what's the next step? Before you start, reframe your strategy. Instead of building a data collection machine, focus on building a value creation machine.

Next, ask yourself: "How can you rethink investments in customer data efforts?"

How do you stop talking about the how and start talking about the why?

Next, align business capabilities to customer needs.

Now it's time to collaborate smarter — on behalf of customers.

Finally, it's time to ask yourself the final key question: "What are specific and achievable use cases for integrating customer data?"

To answer this question, take an iterative approach to validate and then scale.

4 Approaches to achieve your goals with less data:
1. Customer self selection
2. Contextual data
3. Tailored, context-specific help
4. Self-service utility

In summary, Gartner recommends:

Thanks for joining this session at the Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo: gtnr.it/3LNnT8J #GartnerMKTG