As businesses grow, so does their application estate, with an expanding number of software platforms providing different people with functionality and insights. And that is an important foundation for delivering effective customer experiences (CX).
However, all too often, these systems do not effectively integrate with each other. That means your HR system doesn’t play nicely with your finance system, and neither even think about talking to your marketing platform. The result? Siloed systems and siloed data, leaving you without a clear, overarching view of your customers and how they interact with the organisation.
In this blog, I discuss ways to ensure systems work together to give you accurate, comprehensive and actionable data on customers and their journeys.
What are integrations?
Integrations are connections between different systems and applications that allow them to work together. Built on Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), they allow data to flow seamlessly between systems so everything works in harmony.
Many applications are already set up to integrate with other approved systems. For example, if you’re already using Salesforce, you can choose from a wide range of Salesforce-verified vendors like Engage Hub so you can use existing Salesforce customer data for customer messaging campaigns.
Why do integrations matter?
Without integrations, you get silos. And when you have silos, your end-to-end CX can easily fall apart. If your CRM system doesn’t effectively integrate with your messaging system, you can’t personalise communications to customers. If your contact centre advisers don’t have access to online order information or chatbot records, then customers get stuck in a frustrating situation where the person they’re speaking to has no idea who they are or what their issue is.
By fully integrating all your disparate systems, you can ensure they each add value (and data) to one another. And that makes for enhanced and more seamless customer journeys, which translates to greater loyalty and revenue.
What else can integrations do?
Integrations don’t just enhance customer journeys by giving each stage access to richer data. They can also help you automate clunky, manual processes, thereby increasing operational efficiency.
For example, with integrations, you no longer have to manually upload data and spreadsheets to different systems – they all can access the same data sets in real-time. This reduces human error, speeds up processes and means all systems are working from the latest information.
The bottom line: Integrations unify your CX
Integrations give you one single view of all your customer data and allows you to make smarter CX decisions – all while automating manual tasks and freeing up valuable resources.
At Engage Hub, we make integration a priority, not an afterthought. Having recently entered a strategic partnership with Salesforce and Zendesk, we help users benefit from integrated functionality that contributes towards more effective campaigns and a more compelling customer experience.
