How business intelligence transforms the customer experience

Today’s businesses are struggling to meet the demands of the modern consumer, who is increasingly looking for personalized, efficient, and ‘anytime, anything, anywhere’ buying. But delivering this kind of approach to the online buying journey requires strategy, coordination, and, most importantly—data.

That’s why data-driven reporting and decision-making have never been more vital. However, many e-commerce businesses have their data scattered across multiple disconnected sources and applications and thus fail to build the accurate, robust view of performance required to transform the customer experience. 

In this data-driven world, your competition is likely already unlocking powerful insights that help them create more personalized customer experiences, unlock hidden revenue streams, and make better business decisions. That’s why it’s crucial your entire organization has access to accurate, instant insights if you hope to compete. 

In this blog, we discover how advanced analytics is transforming the customer experience, exploring four example KPIs that will help open your mind to smarter strategies and decision-making that can be enabled by business intelligence. 

The hidden cost of disconnected systems  

Most businesses today have their data dispersed across systems and applications. From ERP platforms to CRM tools to DWH applications and marketing tools, each area houses only a fragment of the bigger picture. And while these systems may perform their intended functions separately, the lack of data integration creates silos that limit your ability to examine how parts of your business intersect and impact the customer experience.

But it’s not just about unifying data sources. It’s also important to have this business intelligence embedded into the back office of your e-commerce platform so that your entire organization can easily access instant insights to make better decisions. 

The cost of working without this kind of business intelligence goes far beyond inefficiency. It also leads to: 

1. Fragmented Customer Journeys: Delivering a seamless, personalized experience is nearly impossible without unifying your data sources and embedding this business intelligence into your back office for your entire team to access. 
2. Delayed Decision-Making: Disconnected systems often require manual data consolidation, delaying access to actionable insights. In e-commerce, this lag leads to missed opportunities. 
3. Inaccurate Insights: Without centralized and standardized data, teams rely on outdated reports or assumptions, making decisions based on incomplete or incorrect information. This has the potential to negatively impact customer satisfaction and business outcomes.
4. Higher Operational Costs: The inefficiencies of managing data without an embedded business intelligence tool add up. Teams spend countless hours exporting, cleaning, and merging data instead of focusing on high-value strategies that build customer loyalty. These manual processes also increase the risk of human error, which can further erode trust in the data.
5. Missed Opportunities for Personalization: Today’s customers expect tailored recommendations, promotions, and interactions. Fragmented business intelligence makes it difficult to leverage the full spectrum of data needed to build these personalized experiences, causing businesses to fall short of customer expectations and lose out to competitors who can deliver.

By failing to address these hidden costs, businesses inadvertently undermine their ability to foster customer loyalty and drive growth. The solution lies in a unified approach to data—one that seamlessly incorporates all data sources for a unified view of performance. 

Moreover, a rigid reporting setup makes it impossible to add or customize new key performance indicators, meaning your team will only have access to generic data. A flexible business intelligence solution will offer out-of-the-box dashboards that can still be personalized with custom KPIs that best fit your business needs. 

To further inspire you, here are four KPIs that you can track with a flexible business intelligence tool, plus ideas for leveraging them to gain a competitive edge. 

Four KPIs that impact customer experience—and what to do with them

“Order Item Status by Customer” 

This KPI helps your team monitor customer-specific order issues, such as delayed shipments, incomplete orders, or damaged goods. If left unaddressed, these issues can erode customer trust and satisfaction.

Instantly access this business intelligence in a customized sales dashboard to:  

• Identify at-risk customers to improve satisfaction. 
• Implement automated alerts for your support team to step in and resolve issues before customers escalate them.
• Offer personalized support and solutions, like expedited replacements or exclusive discounts, to build loyalty.

“Top Products Returned by Quantity”

High return rates are red flags indicating issues with product quality, descriptions, or customer expectations. This KPI uncovers patterns that can help you address these problems at the source.

Instantly access this business intelligence in a customized product dashboard to:  

• Investigate the reasons behind high return rates—common causes might include misleading product descriptions or sizing inconsistencies.
• Work with suppliers to improve product quality or provide better training for merchants on crafting accurate listings.
• Use these insights to refine your product catalog, eliminating items that consistently disappoint customers.

“Companies by Order Value”

High-value business customers represent significant revenue potential. This KPI identifies who these customers are so you can focus on building strong, personalized relationships with them.

Instantly access this business intelligence in a customized customer dashboard to:  

• Develop tailored account management strategies for these clients, such as assigning dedicated account managers or offering premium service packages.

• Provide exclusive benefits like priority shipping, volume discounts, or early access to new products.
• Regularly review feedback from these customers to understand their evolving needs to strengthen loyalty.

“Merchants by Number of Product Offers” 

Product diversity is a key driver of customer satisfaction and, thus, marketplace success. This KPI highlights which merchants are actively contributing and where there may be gaps.

Instantly access this business intelligence in a customized marketplace dashboard to:  

• Analyze trends in merchant engagement, providing support to those with fewer product offers to enhance your marketplace variety. 
• Provide resources like educational webinars or marketing incentives to help merchants expand their product catalogs.
• Monitor the impact of these efforts to ensure that product diversity aligns with customer preferences.

Transform your customer experience with embedded business intelligence

Delivering a superior customer experience in today’s fast-paced, data-driven world requires more than intuition—it demands insights powered by advanced analytics. Embedded business intelligence tools, like Spryker’s Business Intelligence, powered by Amazon QuickSight, empower companies to instantly infuse data insights into their business to improve customer interactions and enhance operational efficiency. 

With an embedded integration built for deep analysis, rapid reporting, and advanced modeling, our BI solution extends and unifies data sources for a complete view of performance, providing teams with customized dashboards and workflows that fit their unique needs. 

Learn more about how Spryker’s Business Intelligence, powered by Amazon QuickSight, can help you move the needle for your e-commerce business.