Use Cases for Reverse ETL

According to Gartner, leading organizations in every industry are wielding data and analytics as competitive weapons. Companies that leverage data as a competitive differentiator will stand the best chance of acting faster on opportunities and responding to threats in a competitive marketplace. The problem is that most companies aren’t aware of the value of their data. As a result, they aren’t leveraging the full potential of their data to make informed decisions. Here we’ll discuss how you can use Reverse ETL to get the most out of your data and strengthen your competitive edge.

The Business Impact of Reverse ETL

Capturing customer behavioral information is great for analytics and reporting. However, there is a huge missed opportunity when that information simply sits or doesn’t end up in the hands of people who can make the most of the information. 

Reverse ETL is the process of pushing analytics data back to the third-party apps used by line-of-business users to create better customer experiences. 

With this ETL strategy, any team — from sales to marketing to customer service and product development — has access to key information in the systems they use each day. Giving these teams access to this information empowers them to take action on verified and trustworthy information. This practice, called operational analytics, is what turns valuable warehouse data into action. Common Reverse ETL use cases include:

• Building more comprehensive customer profiles
• Identifying more granular audience segments
• Lead scoring based on business-specific criteria 

Reverse ETL Simplifies SaaS Integrations

The rise of SaaS platforms gives companies access to a variety of operational tools they need to run their business. As companies incorporate SaaS technology into their workflow, the need to integrate and share information between systems is important. Many platforms provide direct integrations. However, these point-to-point integrations can multiply quickly and become difficult to manage. 

Reverse ETL can simplify integrations by minimizing these point-to-point integrations. The ideal approach is to pull all data to the warehouse and then push that data out to the operational systems as needed. 

Customer Service

Your frontline employees play a critical role in defining the customer experience. They represent your company’s brand, products, and services to the customers. It is ultimately the frontline workers who have the most significant impact on customer satisfaction. With that said, it is important to equip these frontline workers with the tools needed to deliver a more personalized customer experience. 

As an example, you can use this ETL strategy to sync information from various support channels with Zendesk. This type of integration can give your team access to customer information, service history, and support tickets in one spot. Having access to this information can help your support staff provide a more personalized experience. Integrate.io's API suite includes integrations for a variety of customer success channels, including HelpScout, Slack, Zendesk Chat, and more.

Marketing and Sales

Sales and marketing is a group effort that expands multiple teams. That is why it is important to embrace an approach that helps teams connect the dots of the entire customer journey. Reverse ETL supports this approach by bringing together information about the customer’s behavior through the entire marketing funnel. 

Operationalizing customer data helps you answer questions such as which content or channel triggered the customer journey. It can also highlight information such as the customer’s highest point of engagement, what products or services they purchased, and how much they spent. By giving your teams access to the entire customer journey:

• Marketing can create more personalized and effective marketing campaigns.
• Sales have more detailed information to nurture their leads and increase their conversion rate.

Integrate.io provides integrations for several popular sales and marketing tools, including Salesforce. 

Logistics and Supply Chain Management

Today’s supply chains are becoming increasingly complex, requiring access to massive amounts of information from disparate systems. Supply chain professionals need insight into this information to streamline processes, accelerate delivery, and reduce costs. 

Companies can use this ETL strategy to sync information across the supply chain to provide valuable insights. Operationalizing this data means companies can:

• Perform more accurate demand forecasting
• Better resource planning
• Adapt and fine-tune logistics

Integrate.io integrates with ShipStation and AfterShip to help companies manage logistics tasks such as shipping and order tracking. 

How Integrate.io Can Help

Companies that leverage the value in their data are better equipped to respond to opportunities in a competitive landscape. Reverse ETL is a strategy that helps companies get a more holistic view of critical information to support informed decision-making. Integrate.io has a vast suite of API integrations to popular SaaS platforms. Sign up for a 7-day pilot to see firsthand how Integrate.io can help you leverage Reverse ETL to get maximum value out of your data.