Describe consuming Dynamics 365 Customer Insights - Data in other apps
Typically, when people think about a Customer Data Platform (CDP), they consider its ability to help them create a 360-degree view of their customers across disparate data systems. While that capability is an important part of a Customer Data Platform, it's not necessarily the most important part.
Most important is what a CDP platform allows you to do with the data after you ingest it, unify it, and build insights around it. If your CDP predicts that a customer might stop doing business with you, act based on that information. Your CDP doesn't implement the actions you plan to take, such as sending coupons or having a sales representative reach out. Other applications complete those actions. The coupons that you send might be part of a customer journey that you implement in your preferred marketing application. Likely, your sales staff engages with customers by using some type of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application. A good CDP makes it easier for your organization to use that data in the applications that it uses every day.
Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Data makes it easy to take the data you have in the application and use it across your entire organization.
It's important to note that most users in your organization don't work directly in Customer Insights – Data. They work with the data collected by Customer Insights – Data. For example, your marketing person, who is responsible for running your LinkedIn advertising campaigns, typically isn't creating the measures, and segments in Customer Insights – Data. They will, however, use segments created in Customer Insights - Data in the campaigns they run through LinkedIn. This is accomplished by exporting data from Customer Insights – Data into the different applications where it is consumed.
Two main types of exports are:
Data-out - Export any type of entity that's available in Customer Insights. The entities that you select for export are exported with all data fields, metadata, schemas, and mapping details.
Segment - Export segment entities from Customer Insights - Data. Segments represent a list of customer profiles. When you're setting up the export, select the included data fields, depending on the target system that you plan to export data to.
Another area where you can use Customer Insights – Data is by interaction with common Microsoft Power Platform components. Once configured, you can use Customer Insights – Data to enhance the following applications:
Model-driven applications – Customer Insights – data can ingest data from model-driven applications such as Dynamics 365 Sales or Dynamics 365 Customer Service. Additionally, insights that are captured in the application can be surfaced directly on customer records in model-driven apps.
Power Apps - Apps that are created in Power Apps can be connected to Dynamics 365 Customer Insights - Data as a data source. This capability lets you use data from the unified customer profile and data from other applications simultaneously.
Power Automate - With Power Automate, you can run actions in other line-of-business applications based on data that is surfaced from Customer Insights - Data or on actions triggered in applications that are connected to Customer Insights - Data.
Power BI - The Customer Insights - Data Power BI connector enables you to use the unified customer profile within Microsoft Power BI to further analyze and uncover insight.
The following example is what a real-world scenario might look like.
Contoso Coffee sells premium-quality coffee and coffee machines through their retail stores, high-end food resellers, and their website.
Contoso plans to further expand their offerings with Contoso Cafés and a new Connected Coffee Machine, which can trigger refill orders and alert Contoso service about any issues. This new offering helps the company build direct relationships with their customers and learn more about how customers consume their products.
Business objective
Contoso's current business model doesn't provide them with a direct relationship with their customers. For this reason, they're unable to deliver personalized customer experiences. Contoso wants to own and build a meaningful, direct relationship with all consumers to deliver an exceptional, personalized customer experience through relevant communications, personalized recommendations, and services.
Contoso ingested all their data into a unified customer profile that provides them with all relevant data about their customers. They want to take the data that they now have and use it throughout their entire operation.
The company identified three main areas to focus on:
Making Customer Insights data (such as activities, measures, and customer profile information) available to staff while they're working in Dynamics 365 Sales or Customer Service.
Creating a "greeter app" that assists their retail staff in delivering more personalized customer experiences and provides recommendations based on historical data.
Gaining a deeper understanding of their business by uncovering insights for different functions of their business.
The following sections examine each one of their objectives to determine how it can be accomplished.
Surface Customer Insights - Data in model-driven applications
With the Customer Insights - Data Customer Card add-in that is available in AppSource, data that Customer Insights - Data captures can be surfaced on each contact record in Contoso's Dynamics 365 Sales or Service applications. When employees open a customer record, they can gain deeper insights through three Customer Insights - Data components:
Customer Insights - Data Timeline - Activities that represent purchases that customers made on the company's website or while at retail stores could be displayed in the Customer Insights - Data Timeline control on the card in the application.
KPI - Employees have access to important Customer Insights - Data measures such as Average Web Purchases, Lifetime Spend, and so on, directly from within their model-driven application.
Demographics - This configurable control can display important information from the unified customer profile.
Additionally, data from Dynamics 365 Sales or Customer Service can be ingested and used in the customer profile. For example, activities such as phone calls, meetings, or tasks could be ingested as needed.
Create a greeter app to deliver personalized service
With Power Apps, Contoso could create a "greeter" application and connect it directly to the unified customer profile in Customer Insights - Data. From the application, greeters at retail stores can check in on the customer while they wait for a sales associate to assist them and have access to all the information in that customer's profile. After the customer is checked in and directed to a sales associate, the associate could be presented with the next step recommendations based on information that is captured in Dynamics 365.
The "greeter" application might resemble the preceding image and would:
Use Customer Insights - Data as its primary data source.
Use Power Automate to:
- Create a check-in activity in Dynamics 365.
Check-in activity data would be populated from Customer Profile information that is surfaced in the Power App.
- Create a product recommendation card from Dynamics 365 Sales Insights.
This card could provide product recommendations or next steps.
- Help the greeter present the recommendations to the associate in the Power App.
Uncover insights with Power BI
The Customer Insights - Data Power BI connector would connect to Audience Insights as a data source. Rich Power BI visualizations could be created and used to provide more insights.
