Overview
What a single customer view is, and how we build one
A single customer view (SCV) is one trusted record for each customer: their identifiers, attributes, transactions, service history and consents, joined across every system and readable by every team that needs it. It's an outcome rather than a product. A CRM, a customer data platform, a marketing platform or a data warehouse can each host it; what makes it work is the rules around it.
Great Minds is a Sydney-based systems integrator, and most SCV work is integration and governance. We map where customer data lives today, agree which system is the hub, write the match and consent rules with your business owners, and connect the sources, on Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Adobe, Klaviyo or whichever platforms you already run.
Programs usually start from a symptom. Reports disagree about how many customers you have. A customer who unsubscribed gets another email from a different tool. Service staff check three systems to answer one question. Or an AI project needs customer data it can trust, and nobody can say which copy is right.
Capabilities
What a single customer view program covers
Four pieces of work, each ending in something your team can run without us. Skipping identity and consent is the most common reason SCV programs disappoint, so we never leave them to the end.
Partnerships
Platforms we use to deliver a single customer view
The platform matters less than the rules, so we build on the CRM, CDP and marketing platforms you already run where we can.
SalesforceSales Cloud or Service Cloud as the customer hub, or Data 360 for unifying high-volume data, implemented and connected to the rest of your stack.
Microsoft Dynamics 365Dynamics 365 Sales or Customer Service as the hub, with Customer Insights for unified profiles and marketing journeys.
Adobe Real-Time CDPFor Adobe Experience Cloud users: identity graphs and real-time profiles on Adobe Experience Platform.
KlaviyoProfiles, consent and segmentation for ecommerce and direct-to-consumer brands, where marketing is the main user of the SCV. Great Minds is a Klaviyo Gold Advisor.How we deliver
A single customer view, phased by use case
We inventory customer data sources, audit consent records and score data quality: duplicates, missing fields, records that can't be traced to a source. We also set the baseline the program will be judged on, such as duplicate rate, time to action an unsubscribe across all systems, and how long service staff spend finding a customer.
The hub decision, the match policy, the consent model and a field-by-field rule for which source wins. Identity rules are business decisions, so a named business owner approves them and any later change.
Two or three sources and one activation, such as suppressing promotions to customers with an open complaint, or a complete customer view in the service console. AI agents do much of the repetitive mapping and duplicate checking; our consultants review merges by hand and sign off every change.
Service, billing or booking data comes in next, then more channels and governed access for AI agents. Each release is measured against the discovery baseline, so you can show what the SCV has changed.
Australian considerations
What Australian organisations need to build in
An SCV is where the Australian Privacy Principles become concrete. APP 10 requires reasonable steps to keep personal information accurate, up to date and complete, and a well-run SCV is how you show those steps. APP 11 requires you to destroy or de-identify personal information you no longer need, so bring in the fields each use case needs rather than copying everything. If the profile is hosted overseas, APP 8 applies.
Opt-outs have to reach every system. APP 7 governs direct marketing, and for email and SMS the ACMA's Spam Act guidance is that unsubscribe requests must be honoured within 5 working days. An SCV that holds consent as data, and syncs it to every sending tool, is the practical way to meet both.
Banks, building societies and credit unions have a legal definition to meet. APRA's APS 910 requires ADIs to be able to generate single customer view data for the Financial Claims Scheme within 48 hours of the relevant end of day, and to keep SCV systems and data in Australia unless APRA approves otherwise.
From 10 December 2026, if your SCV feeds automated pricing, credit, eligibility or service decisions that significantly affect people, your privacy policy must disclose it. See our guide to automated decisions and the Privacy Act.
FAQ
Single customer view questions
Is a single customer view the same as a CDP?
No. A CDP is one platform that can host an SCV. A CRM, a marketing platform's profile store or a data warehouse can host one too. Decide the hub after the source inventory and match policy, not before, and the right platform is usually obvious from where your best customer data already sits.
Is a single customer view the same as master data management?
They overlap. Master data management governs golden records across customers, products and suppliers, usually for operational systems. An SCV is the customer profile that marketing, sales, service and AI agents actually use. Many mid-market organisations get an SCV without a separate MDM tool, using the identity rules in their CRM or CDP and a written match policy.
How do we stop the SCV merging two different people?
Match on strong identifiers first, such as a customer number or a normalised email address, and be careful with fuzzy matches on names and addresses. Over-merging is worse than leaving a duplicate, because it can send one person's details or offers to someone else. Test the rules on a sample, review merges by hand, and only then run them on the full database.
Does our customer data have to stay in Australia?
For most organisations no law requires it, but APP 8 governs disclosure overseas, and contracts, sector rules or customer expectations may require onshore hosting. ADIs are different: APS 910 requires SCV systems and data to stay in Australia unless APRA approves otherwise.
Can we build a single customer view without replacing our systems?
Usually, yes. Most SCVs are built by connecting the systems you have and agreeing the rules between them. A new platform only makes sense when no existing system can play the hub role at the volume or speed you need. Our data integration practice does most of this work.
Where should we start?
With a source inventory and a one-page match policy, not a platform shortlist. If those take longer than expected, that tells you the program is really a data quality program, and it should be scoped and funded as one. Our data strategy work can set that up.
People
Data strategists, architects and CRM specialists who build customer views
Our consultants map your customer data, write the identity and consent rules with your business owners and build the integrations that join it up. They stay accountable for the result, with AI agents doing repetitive mapping and duplicate checks under their review.
Case studies
Recent work from across the firm.
One asset library for APAC, EMEA and North AmericaModernising creative storage and operations for a global retailerEnabling global brand consistency through enterprise Digital Asset Management
4x faster campaign execution, 1M+ contacts migratedSalesforce Marketing Cloud to Klaviyo migration with 1M+ email marketing recipientsUnlocking personalised growth at scale through Klaviyo implementation and data migration
Servers virtualised for a resilient, scalable office networkCritical ICT infrastructure upgrades for Tzannes ArchitectsICT transformation allowing Tzannes to enjoy a flexible, resilient, and highly scalable IT infrastructure.Insights
Guides to customer data and privacy
Adobe AEM Assets vs Bynder: choosing an enterprise DAMAdobe AEM Assets vs Bynder compared by a team that has delivered both: best fit, strengths, integrations and the questions that decide which DAM suits you.
What is an enterprise PMO (ePMO)? A guide for Australian leadersWhat an ePMO does that a PMO doesn't, why CPS 230 and AI portfolios raise the stakes, the systems it has to join up, and a 90-day plan.
AI in customer acquisition: what works for Australian marketersWhere AI genuinely improves customer acquisition, why connected first-party data comes first, and the Australian privacy and spam rules CMOs must plan for.