How Customer Data Platforms Power Amazing Customer Experiences at Scale

Data collection’‹Right now, marketers are dealing with silos of data located in numerous places ’” Google Analytics, CRMs, email, ecommerce, point-of-sale systems, and many more. A CDP can aggregate these sources and more into one place, along with offline data, such as in-store interactions, event attendance, etc. H

aving the data collected in one place, without having to integrate multiple spreadsheets from a variety of places, allows for more straightforward analysis. I

t allows marketers to separate actionable information from the rest of the noise of the data.

Profile unification’‹Much of the data that is currently available is generalized. T

hat means it is not connected with a particular customer. W

hile this can be helpful in creating generic marketing ’‹personas, which have historically been the go-to tool for making assumptions about customer behavior, they are just that ’” generalized assumptions. T

hey are not specific ’‹to any one user.’‹In the circumstances where data is specific to a single customer, small differences ’” such as a slightly misspelled name, inclusion/exclusion of a middle initial or suffix, title/position or multiple addresses/phone numbers/emails, social media accounts ’” can spawn new records. T

his creates both frustration for the customer and a challenge for marketers as it yields incomplete and confusing profiles. A CDP streamlines the process of reconciling these broken profiles into a single customer record, allowing for nuanced understanding of specific customers, as well as generalized personas.

Segmentation’‹Once data is gathered and unified, it can more easily be segmented into various audiences. T

his simplified process allows for the development of more specific communications and targeted outreach efforts that are more, clear, personal, and actionable.

Prediction + Testing’‹Hand in hand with segmentation is testing. D

ata that is more quickly and easily segmented makes for a much more streamlined A/B testing process. T

his straightforward process allows marketingteams ’” without the assistance of IT or other technical teams ’” to experiment in real time with offers, promotions, and messaging that can help strengthen a customer relationship.’‹This level of testing extends beyond offers and promotions. I

t is possible to test image types, image placement, content types, button locations, CTAs, and more. E

very interaction offers an opportunity to see what resonates best with your customers.

Activation + Personalization’‹With detailed, granular behavior information, the CDP enables marketers to activate customers across channels and develop personalized experiences. C

ustomers will receive the best nextinteraction to meet their needs ’” perhaps personalized content specific to their interests, or an incentive that will lead them to click “register’ rather than simply waiting to sign-up for an event until later or completing the check-out process for purchasing an item.