Using business intelligence to acquire a single version of the truth

In 2015, a Forrester survey asked the following question; “What are the biggest obstacles encountered by your company when wanting to improve your customer management skills?” This survey was answered by 251 professionals working on a CRM project over a period of 3 years. And among the various CRM obstacles mentioned in the response choices, nearly half of the companies ticked the same one. For 47% of companies, gathering customer data and information into a single view is something that represents a major challenge. Is your company faced with this same challenge? What happens when two different employees are given the task of producing reports for your company? Do you get identical results? For many companies, the results vary depending on the analyst who writes the report. Each analyst uses their system of preference (CRM, ERP, Legacy) to retrieve the information. Since the data sources are not the same, their results of their report will inevitably be different. Following our top 5 major CRM obstacles that can be solved using business intelligence, we continue our series by showing you how using business intelligence will lead you to a single truth:

The limitations of Excel

When it comes to writing reports, Excel is everywhere for many companies. While it certainly is a very flexible tool, it is also very costly in terms of time. Not to mention that performance stability is often compromised… Hitting the wrong keyboard key can happen so fast!

Business intelligence as a solution

It is possible to overcome the number 1 CRM obstacle. The modern tools of business intelligence will provide you with a single version of the truth. At XRM Vision we use Power BI. It is a solution which allows you to gather, analyze and visualize different sets of data. By consolidating various sources of information, you will get advanced indicators regarding the well-being of your company. Power BI is not the only solution, there are many other available applications that will allow you to reach these results!

How to identify the right sources of information?

With a business intelligence tool like Power BI, an effort is first made to identify relevant information sources. The best way to calculate performance indicators is also defined in advance. From that point, allreports and analyzes use a single source of information. The risk of errors is greatly reduced, and the reports present you with a unique version of the facts. There are many other CRM obstacles that can be solved using the right business intelligence tools. We will cover these in our next articles! Want to know more on business intelligence? A recording of our webinar "Overcome 5 Great CRM Challenges with Business Intelligence" is now available online for free. Click here to view it! Do not hesitate to contact one of our experts, who can offer you personalized advice. And stay up to date by following us on LinkedIn and Twitter!