Less than a third of businesses plan to adopt a single customer view (SCV), despite knowing this is increasingly crucial to remain competitive in today’s business world.  

That’s according to the survey of 400 UK businesses by Experian QAS which found 72% of UK companies see the competitive advantage in using insight to put the customer at the heart of the business but have not yet to take the necessary steps.

Over two thirds of organisations claimed that people-related challenges were a barrier to creating a SCV, whilst 52% admitted data itself is an issue, said the report.

However, 85% of companies acknowledged that had they implemented a SCV they could have avoided specific business problems over the past year whilst a further 58% said an effective SCV would help them overcome business inefficiencies.

Joel Curry, MD for Experian QAS, commented: "Though companies say they understand the critical importance of having a complete and holistic view of each and every customer in order to truly be successful in our data-driven world, the reality is that most are still struggling to come to grips with how to use the data effectively.

“Competition is cutthroat in our current economic landscape and those companies that fail to engage with customers in a way that suits them and that they trust will see those customers take their business elsewhere. There really is no room for error, and there’s only one shot to get it right today.”