The Single Customer Repository: the keystone of customer knowledge?

If you collaborate with marketing teams or agencies, you've probably noticed their penchant for using acronyms. RCU is one of them, yet another, I should say…
But you might be wondering what's really behind this concept? How can it help your brand? Your business?

Definition: What is an RCU?

Clear, A RCU is a system that allows you to centralize all the data of the company's contacts in the broadest sense (whether they are customers, prospects, etc.) and to facilitate their management and use.

How can implementing a Single Customer Record (SCR) help my business?

The challenges faced by customer relationship managers are closely linked to "customer knowledge" and data.
To put it simply:

• Without a data source: no knowledge.
• Without data validation: the knowledge lacks reliability. 
• Without centralized data, knowledge is dispersed.
• Without regular updates to the data, knowledge tends to become obsolete.
• Without rules for managing, enriching, or aggregating data, knowledge is neither consolidated nor enriched.
• Without reliable knowledge, data activation is risky, personalization is hazardous…

The implementation of the RCU therefore answers these questions and consists of centralizing this customer knowledge in order to obtain a single customer/prospect view with a 360° vision (which will allow us to know the contact from all angles, demographic, behavioral, transactional etc…).

The RCU then gathers all consumer data into a single record (personal data, purchasing behavior, media consumption, in-store visits (when logged in), etc.). commitment on social media etc…

What are the steps and challenges involved in setting up a RCU?

The main issues at stake in a RCU (Regional Cooperation Unit) are often:

• to identify the different sources of data collection,
• To set up data collection flows to feed the RCU, this generally involves the use of ETL.
• to normalize the data to make it consistent/coherent with each other,
• to standardize information,
• to determine identification keys,
• to identify potential duplicates and merge information intelligently, using business rules, merging, etc.
• to allow the data to be used in other systems (for example, marketing automation systems).
• to manage data volumes,
• to secure access to data (from a technical or regulatory point of view, to manage personal or even sensitive data…),
• to carry out appropriate treatments,
• to manage the RCU which, from a regulatory point of view, may require multi-point hosting in a private cloud (for example, to store the data of European Union contacts in Europe, in accordance with the GDPR, and to store the data of other contacts in their jurisdiction…).

How to set up a RCU?

Implementing a true RCU (Return on Customer) system generally requires relying on a marketing platform capable of managing these issues; this is the role of... Customer Data Platform.

Depending on the size and complexity of your centralization project (we generally check the scattering of data, the number of sources, the number of systems to connect, the types of data, the dimensions of the databases, the number of stakeholders in the project…) you may benefit from seeking support.
You will be able to appeal to:
– internally within your IT department (Information Systems Department),
– to consultants specializing in Data projects,
– to digital agencies customer centric or specialized in Relationship Marketing,
– to agencies data driven "specialized in data…"

Can companies do without a RCU?

To be honest, probably not.
It will become increasingly difficult to do without a RCU for several reasons.

First because the competition may have already successfully completed a centralization projectand that it is getting ahead in understanding its customers and will be able to implement more effective and proactive customer acquisition and retention strategies.First, by building loyalty with existing customers at every opportunity, at every touchpoint. And by converting new prospects at a lower cost with more tailored, personalized offers that better meet their expectations…

Next park Regulatory requirements are forcing companies to better manage personal dataThe GDPR in Europe, CCAC In California, and other regulations, companies are required to maintain records and logs of processing activities. Guaranteeing your users their fundamental rights (right to information, right of access, right to rectification, right to erasure, right to restriction of processing, right to data portability) will become increasingly complicated if you have to implement them across heterogeneous and dispersed systems…

In conclusion…

In conclusion, I would simply say that if your company or brand has not yet opted to implement a CSR policy, you should perhaps consider doing so before it is too late.
Because if you don't make the choice yourself today, it's probably the competition, your clients and consumers who will impose it on you more or less indirectly in the coming months.
Because without a good understanding of their desires, their wishes to consume, to communicate or to engage with your brand, to be rewarded for their loyalty, you simply risk gradually losing their interest and losing them.

But if you've read this far, it means you're already asking yourself the question.

I would conclude by saying that the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is not only the cornerstone of your customer/prospect knowledge, but it is also a key to the future of your brand, your company…

Are you convinced?
So see how to deploy it by continuing to read our article: What are the real stakes of a CDP?