In the following article you will get an overview of the different categories of Customer Data Platforms - based on the classification of David Raab from the Customer Data Platform Institute and further developed by the b.telligent experts on the subject of CDP.
German companies must venture a big step toward digital transformation and improvement of customer experience - this insight is evolving increasingly among decision-makers. The reasons for this are manifold:
CDP systems, existent in the USA since 2013, appear to be right on cue here. Whereas campaign management systems tending to be based on workflow often automate CRM-based campaign processes in relational data models, CDP systems allow comprehensive treatment ranging from customer-centric data management in big-data technologies to e-mail dispatch in real time, in order to optimize the customer interaction across all digital channels such as the web, e-mail, mobile communications, online shops and social networks.
At last: The starting shot for digitization strategy has been fired, and marketing is meant to be an important component of this strategy. In the course of implementation, a decision was made to use a customer data platform (CDP) to form a 360-degree customer view and automate marketing journeys in a real-time environment. This decision, in addition to an investment which is not small, has significantly influenced marketing processes and areas (online, e-mail, e-commerce and CRM) at an enterprise. In this third and last part of my CDP-series I would like to focus on the appropriate selection and evaluation of the suitable CDP-tool.
Unlike marketing automation solutions, a distinction is made not according to functional scope such as enterprise or best-of-breed, but according to the customer data platform's functional focus. In other words, the right kind of CDP can be selected already in advance, depending on how requirements are defined.
A total of three categories of customer data platform are distinguishable:
For many businesses, cross- and up-selling are among the most important objectives in customer management.When a customer calls a business, it seems to be the perfect time for cross- or up-selling activities.
A successful team in the American Basketball League NBA combines four crucial characteristics:
But what does that have to do with the technical concept next best activity (NBA)? This question was discussed with the participants in the course of a workshop at the Call Center Association (Call Center Verband) Spring Conference 2013. The challenges for the implementation of an NBA concept were specifically identified and ideas for solutions were developed.
In order to successfully implement a campaign, it is important to be able to rely to a closed campaign planning process within the business. In case there is no such defined and uniform process, valuable potential is wasted and there is a risk that there will not be successes in the long term.
With the help of the workflow component of an MRM solution, marketers create tasks and can assign and control them to themselves or others.This makes timings, responsibilities and the processing status of tasks and campaigns recognizable, filterable and controllable at a glance.
Isolated applications which make a standardization of processes impossible can be found in tool landscapes of media forecasting with regional focus. The media types often require specific budget allocation tools, availability checks and booking of placements for their forecasting. The forecasting results are manually transferred and checked for target group acceptance and visually prepared via a geo-information system (GIS). All outputs are subsequently exported separately in Excel format, manually compiled and formatted to the customer's CI - on request, this is also implemented in PowerPoint. If a customer feedback results in an adjustment, the process is repeated.
These factors cause both manual processes and a high coordination and communication effort in the interaction of customer consultant, media planner, creative agencies and the advertising customer - this results in inefficiencies and high processing costs for all involved parties.
This situation is the starting point of an optimization project regarding the implementation of a marketing resource management system (MRM) at a leading German media agency. Together with its sister companies, it is the fundamental element within one of the largest forecasting and purchasing agency networks worldwide.
