Single-Entity View

Customers should believe they are dealing with one integrated firm, rather than a disjointed set of business units which only take ownership of a customer for those interactions relating to their particular part of the business. The integration facility of ECA enables this via a real-time data management system which utilizes a data store incorporating operational data-mining models to generate ever-evolving propensity scores and a living customer behaviour profile which is shared by all the customer touch points. While customers interact with a firm, an ever-evolving customer behaviour profile develops, giving each touch point hard accounting data (for example, on what was spent or invested) and soft facts (such as attitude to risk, price sensitivity) which are used in conjunction with powerful technology to generate personalized messages for each individual customer. You really understand me. Ultimately, ECA provides a mechanism to enable customers to acknowledge that the firm understands them and meets their needs, ensuring that they continue to do business with that supplier. Figure 20.2 shows how the ECA structure achieves this.

Figure 20.2: ECA Reference Architecture

ECA links e-commerce and traditional, multi-channel business intelligence practices, and shows that combining novel Internet capabilities with existing, proven IT fundamentals, including data warehousing and data mining, results in an integrated solution that can be applied to both Web and traditional channels. ECA offers what may be the most exciting customer relationship development since either e-commerce or advanced analytics first appeared: a closed-loop, 360-degree customer relationship process that grows increasingly intelligent with each interaction. Assessing the dynamics of every promotion and channel interaction continually generates intelligence that refreshes and enriches ongoing relationships with customers, enabling businesses to optimize the lifetime value of each one individually.