A single customer view (SCV) is a unified, comprehensive profile that consolidates all of an organization’s customer data into one centralized, accessible location. A single customer view data platform can be helpful in multichannel and omnichannel marketing, since it provides an organization with a complete picture of customers as they engage across channels, media, and contexts.
Single customer view is also referred to as Customer 360 View (C360) and Unified Customer View (UCV). It contains all personally identifiable information about customers, such as name, mobile number, address, age, purchase history, loyalty program activity, and previous communications.
Why is Single Customer View Important?
Customers engage with brands using many channels, like web, mobile, telephone, SMS, in-store, radio, television, and more. Multiple profiles can be generated if information on these channels isn’t tracked and associated with a single unified profile for each customer. This failure to connect the dots can lead to lost sales. It can also result in experiences that are frustrating to customers.
Brands can better segment and target customers by connecting these channels and pieces of an identity into a single customer view. As a result, brands can delight customers and grow revenue.
For example, a customer might open an email, click through to the website, add a product to the shopping cart, then decide to try items on in-store. If brands don’t have tools to connect these touchpoints and create a single customer view, they can send ineffective marketing offers, or lose track of customers before finalizing a sale.
Creating a Single Customer View with CDP
Top CDP vendors vary in how effectively they provide a Single Customer View. Differences include the information they include, how they present the information, and how easy it is to look at the information. While demographics such as phone number and address are a given, some single customer view platforms are weak in entry consent information, which details customers’ privacy preferences and how they want their information used.
Unified Profile
A Unified Profile provides a comprehensive record of all customer data and interactions. Brands use numerous platforms and systems to engage with customers across channels. These systems capture data and generate their own set of analytics. Customer Data Platforms (CDP) create unified profiles of customer data.
CDPs aggregate data from web interactions, social media, CRM, loyalty programs, in-store purchases, third-party data, and mobile apps. A CDP can associate multiple identifiers with each customer, stitching together a persistent identity that is retained forever.
Golden Profile
A Golden Profile, also known as a Golden Customer Profile, uses AI-assisted techniques to create a unique, master profile of each customer. It uses AI-assisted identity resolution to combine several different customer databases, including internal and external data, into a single customer profile.
CDPs create an identity master for all users, and it scales to handle millions of customers. The single customer view database adds several key attributes for segmentation, attribution, and user conversion. These attributes include cookie ID, global cookie ID, IP address, UTM parameters, custom attributes, website metadata, and more.
How to Select a CDP for Single Customer View
Some CDP vendors allow you to customize SCVs so they contain the information most important to your business. Ask any potential single customer view data platform vendor if they will enable you to customize views and whether they provide easy tools to help you do that.
Other questions to ask when considering CDP vendors for single customer view platforms:
- Is the information provided sufficient for your business’s basic needs?
- Are they easy to look at? Is the user interface intuitive and easy to understand?
- Can you get a good picture of an individual customer in a segment?
- Can you search on any or all fields, or are you stuck with “fill-in-the-field” search capabilities?
- Does the CDP provider offer easy-to-use tools and code for quick customization?
- Are you able to see or search for event, behavioral, or journey data, such as purchases, visits, or emails?
- Can you see segment inclusion data?
- Can you access machine learning data such as the best time to engage, best channels, and propensities?
FAQ
What is the difference between a Single Customer View and a Customer 360?
Single Customer View (SCV) and Customer 360 (C360) are essentially the same concept—both refer to a unified, comprehensive profile of all customer data in one location. Some vendors use “Customer 360” to emphasize the complete, 360-degree view of customer interactions across all touchpoints. The terms are often used interchangeably, though Customer 360 has become more common in recent marketing technology discussions.
How does identity resolution work in creating a Single Customer View?
Identity resolution connects multiple identifiers (email addresses, device IDs, phone numbers, cookies) to a single customer profile by matching data patterns and linkage rules. CDPs use deterministic matching (exact identifier matches) and probabilistic matching (statistical likelihood based on behavioral patterns) to stitch together fragmented customer data. AI-assisted techniques analyze billions of data points to resolve identities accurately even when customers use different devices or channels.
Can a Single Customer View work across online and offline channels?
Yes, modern CDPs create Single Customer Views that unify both online and offline data, including in-store purchases, call center interactions, website behavior, mobile app usage, and email engagement. This requires integrating point-of-sale systems, CRM data, loyalty programs, and digital touchpoints into a central platform. The unified view enables true omnichannel marketing by recognizing customers regardless of how they interact with your brand.
Related Terms
- Customer 360 — Modern term for the same unified profile concept
- Golden Record — The authoritative master record created through data unification
- Customer Data Unification — The process of merging data sources into one profile
- Data Enrichment — Adds third-party or derived attributes to unified profiles
- Identity Graph — Maps all identifiers belonging to a single customer