How Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) improve campaign performance
In this first blog post part of Munvo’s latest series on data modelling, we introduce the benefits of managing customer data through the use of platforms that augment campaign performance.
Direct marketing initiatives rely heavily on CDPs to manage and consolidate consumer data, and by extension, reduce any siloed gaps that can persist while working between channels, marketing systems, CRMs, and other data points. In fact, an increasing number of enterprises from across all industries are embracing unified data—and here’s why you should too!
Customer Data Platforms — Defined
Stored data, much like kitchen storage, needs to be easily accessible and carefully arranged. CDPs first began with a simple notion, or rather, a simple truth: direct marketers require a 360-degree view of the massive, first-party consumer data that companies collect every day. This refers to the data maintained in SQL and NoSQL databases, data lakes, and in-memory data systems.
Several marketing solutions providers have since sprung up to meet the direct marketers’ needs so that they can harness their data to effectively interact with customers across all channels of communication. It’s no wonder that Adobe is releasing its native Customer Experience (AEP) and real-time Customer Data (CDP) platforms just as Salesforce is planning to roll out its own Marketing Cloud Customer Data Platform to consolidate customer and prospect profiles. Even HCL (Unica) and SAS Customer Intelligence 360 are beefing up their marketing automation solutions to establish similar integration capabilities—all while prioritizing privacy protections.
Consumer Privacy — Protected
Much like in the kitchen, safety comes first! When concerns over consumer privacy initially emerged, no one could have imagined just how productive they would be in shaping secure data management as it currently stands.
Public opinion has continued to incentivize sweeping changes in the integration of complex, yet siloed, marketing eco-systems that protect first-party consumer data. Direct marketers immediately grasped the role of consent in unifying this data, which explains why CDPs now offer unprecedented capabilities for segmenting, analytics, and AI to collect and secure data around consumer identities. In turn, consistent consumer profiles feed a full array of marketing systems, both online and offline channels, and other touchpoints or eCommerce platforms.
Tools and Strategies – Combined
Great chefs need the best tools, though a well-equipped kitchen does not necessarily make a great chef! While CDPs provide state-of-the-art tools to empower direct marketers, they also require careful design to model effective marketing campaigns and customer journeys with multi-channel capabilities. This is a practice to be mastered.
Beyond stitching together consumer profiles, marketers must determine the right strategy—or recipe—to achieve their aims. In our next post, we will take a deep dive to examine all the necessary ingredients for more meaningful data-driven journeys to better resonate with your customers.