Leverage CDPs for increased customer engagement

As the digital advertising industry faces the challenges of third-party cookies disappearing, CDPs (Customer Data Platforms) prove crucial in optimizing owned channels like email, websites, mobile apps, and POS systems. In this article, we dive into how CDPs enable businesses to collect and activate first-party data, which can be used to boost customer engagement and partially compensate for the limitations in paid media due to the lack of cookies.

Overcoming social media advertising limitations with CDPs

The reduced use of third-party cookies has significantly limited the ability of paid media channels to target and track users, forcing companies to seek alternative strategies to engage and retain customers.

The changing importance of owned channels

Owned channels like email, websites, mobile apps, and POS systems (Point-of-Sale) have always been essential components of a company's marketing strategy. However, in a post-third-party cookie era, these channels have gained even greater importance. As a result of the loss of third-party cookies and the consequent limitations in paid media, there is a more urgent need to leverage owned channels more effectively. §

Customer Data Platforms are central in this context. CDPs collect and integrate first-party data from various sources, including online interactions, transaction history, and customer data from offline channels like customer service. This integrated data provides a 360-view of each customer, which is invaluable for customizing communication and offers across different channels. (Image 1)

A CDP can, for example, analyze interaction data on a website to understand customers' preferences and behaviors. This insight can then be used to personalize website content in real-time, enhancing user experience and increasing engagement, as well as personalization of email and paid advertising. Segmentation and personalization can be further improved based on customer activity, purchase history, and preferences.

Regarding mobile apps, CDPs can track user engagement and usage patterns within the app. This data is crucial to delivering personalized messages and offers, boosting engagement and customer loyalty. Furthermore, integrating POS data enables a seamless omnichannel experience, where online behavior and preferences influence the in-store experience and vice versa.

The ability of CDPs to support omnichannel personalization is a game-changer. By having a unified view of the customer across all channels, companies can ensure that their communication is consistent, relevant, and tailored to each individual's preferences and history. This integrated approach means the customer receives a cohesive experience whether they interact with an email campaign, browse the website, use the mobile app, or visit a physical store. Each interaction is influenced by the previous, creating a continuous and optimized customer journey.

Enhancing the customer experience with CDPs

To offset the limitations of paid media, CDPs offer a strategic solution by enhancing the customer experience in owned channels through personalized engagement and consistent messaging.

Effectively leveraging CDPs requires integrating and analyzing data from all customer touchpoints. For email marketing, this means using CDP data to segment audiences based on behavior and preferences, ensuring every email is personal, timely, and contextual. Automatic triggers can be set to send emails based on specific customer actions or milestones, increasing relevance and engagement.

On websites and in mobile apps, CDPs enable real-time personalization. By understanding users' past interactions and preferences, content, offers, and recommendations can be dynamically tailored to match users' interests. This level of personalization not only enhances the user experience but also increases conversion chances.

In physical stores or via POS systems, CDPs help create a unified omnichannel experience. By connecting online behaviors with in-store interactions, companies can offer personalized recommendations and services, driving cross-selling and increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty.

By collecting clickstream data from the web and app and linking data to a customer ID, this data can be used for audience adaptation in paid advertising. This data is now first-party data and free to use for paid channels.

The key features that CDPs offer to support this include data integration, identity resolution, customer profiling, activation, and orchestration. These are the functions needed to better leverage all channels.

Additionally, CDPs enable the measurement and analysis of customer communications (Figure 2) across all owned channels, providing valuable insights into which strategies work and where improvements are needed. This data-driven approach ensures that companies continually adapt and optimize their engagement strategies across all channels.

First-party data: A competitive advantage

Different types of communication

Conclusion

By using CDPs to optimize their owned channels, companies can not only minimize the challenges arising from the disappearance of third-party cookies but also build stronger and more direct relationships with their customers. This approach enables improved customer loyalty and higher retention rates, ultimately leading to increased revenues.