Everybody talks about getting a "360-degree view" of the customer, but the fact remains that most businesses today struggle to get even a fraction of that view.

This inability to unlock the full potential of data deters many businesses from gaining a complete understanding of their customers. In too many organizations, customer data is trapped inside departmental silos. Each group has its own systems and databases, and each one captures different slices of information about a particular customer. Such fragmentation makes it nearly impossible to piece together a unified view of the customer.

The other problem is that companies don't focus on the entire customer journey. In most cases, departments only look at their part of the overall experience. For example, if you're in sales and marketing, you may have little or no knowledge of your best customers' most recent service inquiries. At best, you end up with an incomplete or vague understanding of your customer. That's not good enough.