The nonnegotiables of an omnichannel data ecosystem
These companies invested strategically in an omnichannel data ecosystem to strengthen omnichannel experiences. While it’s not easy to know where to begin and what to prioritize, there are several nonnegotiables.
Data readiness: Poor data quality creates a “garbage in, garbage out” cycle. The effectiveness of omnichannel commerce hinges on data quality—a truth that’s increasingly evident with the rapid advancement of AI. Whether it’s experience, supply chain data, B2C data or e-commerce data, all data must be simplified and standardized. Brands can turn to a data factory to orchestrate and syndicate data, de-duping it, aggregating it strategically with the right attributes and organizing it to respond to customer and market signals in real time. Data governance is key to data readiness as it codifies access controls and addresses data privacy.
Composable architecture: Monolithic architectures lack the flexibility, agility, scalability and integration capabilities to manage data consistently across channels in today’s ever-changing commerce landscape. What’s needed are MACH (microservices-based, API-first, cloud-native and headless) technology solutions that enable composable commerce. Brands can easily create new buying experiences and channels. APIs power real-time data exchange, unlike traditional data feeds. And a cloud-native architecture makes data available (with access controls) across the partner ecosystem, which is often a missing link in omnichannel.
Single source of truth: While all the functional areas of the business involved in commerce will, by definition, use customer and product data insights for different purposes, a single source of truth should connect them. A composable architecture provides the technical backbone for this. But human behavior must also change. “Going rogue” with solutions that create alternative sources of truth causes unnecessary confusion and complexity—and risks brands’ ability to deliver a consistent omnichannel experience.
Unstructured data: Because it doesn’t fit into traditional databases, companies often undervalue and underutilize unstructured data, such as customer reviews, social media content, call center transcripts and chatbot interactions. But the context that these data sources provide can reveal hidden trends, anticipate customer needs and even inform product development. That’s why it’s key to include unstructured data in the omnichannel data ecosystem and invest in advanced analytics and AI-powered tools to uncover insights from masses of data quickly.
More action, less analysis: As brands look to invest in the tools and technologies to support their omnichannel data ecosystem, it’s easy to get stuck in an analysis paralysis spiral of assessing solution after solution to find the perfect one. It’s essential to resist the spiral and get to action quickly. Brands can work with agency and systems integrator partners to define their omnichannel data ecosystem strategy and roadmap, identifying immediate wins. The best approach? Be evolutionary, not revolutionary. Very few brands are in the position to solve their data problems all at once given the complexity of challenges associated with legacy systems and ingrained ways of working around data for e-commerce.
Designed to deliver on the promise of omnichannel data
With a solid foundation for their omnichannel data ecosystem, brands can build from there to amplify its impact in several important ways.
Getting granular can supercharge omnichannel commerce. Commerce is about human connection. When it comes to data, brands can strengthen this connection with zero-party data that customers share themselves. It goes far beyond designing journeys from buyer personas. Most customers know there is a value exchange associated with their data. They share it expecting something in return. To get more zero-party data, brands must identify the right moment in the customer journey for the exchange—and the value proposition that incentivizes participation. Regarding product data, granularity is about localization. This is how brands can surgically target the alignment of inventory positions and promotions with customer behavior and demand across channels.
Monetizing data creates a flywheel effect of impact. Brands that build effective omnichannel data ecosystems with rich first-party data are well positioned to take advantage of data monetization opportunities. They develop new offerings for the advertisers they work with, creating high-margin revenue streams. At the same time, brands increase connections with customers through intelligent offers and experiences and curated product promotions across channels. Done right, commerce media networks create a flywheel effect—a self-reinforcing cycle of continuous improvement of the commerce business. And it all starts with data.
Always optimizing is essential because commerce is a moving target. Adapting to change is important for optimizing data in commerce. For example, AI readiness is nonnegotiable. AI can cut through the data complexity that overwhelms humans. It puts accurate, consistent and real-time data at humans’ fingertips so they can make intelligent decisions. Think of it like this: Commerce teams could spend hours sifting through spreadsheets to decide to send ice scrapers to Denver on Thursday. Or they could get an AI-generated report that shows an 85 percent chance of snow on Thursday in Denver. The report also confirms that 20,000 ice scrapers in the U.S. West distribution center can be delivered to the city’s top 10 revenue-producing hardware stores by the end of business on Tuesday.
Data for e-commerce: It all comes down to connections
Buzzword or not, omnichannel is a struggle for brands across industries. But omnichannel data ecosystems can change this. Forget the pressure of customer demands, channel explosion, technology advancement and competitive maneuvering for a moment. Creating an omnichannel data ecosystem reflects a simple proposition that’s innate to commerce: connection.
By understanding customers in the real-time context of products, inventory, promotions and external influences, brands can make stronger and more meaningful connections with people consistently across channels. Every touchpoint. Every journey. Every time. That’s good for customers, and the top line too.