Summary: It’s cause for celebration when someone returns to your site. Are you making your visitors feel that way, or are you scolding them? (No, that’s not Sally Field.) When she accepted her second Best Actress Oscar in 1985 for “Places in the Heart,” Sally field famously said, “I can’t deny the fact that you…
Summary: Some people have a hard time understanding the relationship between online and offline data in a CDP. Here’s a new way to think about it. A customer data platform is a system that collects, harmonizes, and combines customer data from across your enterprise to create something like a single customer record. The CDP is…
Summary: You might not need a CDP if you already have the capabilities in some existing platform, you can’t justify the expense, or you could easily build or buy precisely the functionality you need. I would love to work with you on a customer data platform (CDP), but only if you really need one. You…
Summary: Understanding the different types or flavors of CDPs can help in the evaluation process, but it can also give marketers ideas about how to use a CDP to bring value to a business. This article highlights 10 types. Today’s podcast is a shorter version of an article I wrote for Martech.org, which I’ll link…
Summary: This article explains why third-party cookies matter, what their loss will mean for internet marketing, and what companies should do now. How do you know which part of your marketing is helping you? That’s an old problem, and over the years people have tried various methods for solving it. Let’s say you publish “Carrot…
Summary: To create a solid content-based business, don’t focus on the “flyby” traffic. Use high-quality, relevant content to attract an engaged audience, then create a robust database around that audience. At MACMA Industry Day last week, Amanda Landsaw said “flyby visitors don’t create robust databases.” There’s a lot to unpack in that statement. Let’s start…
Summary: Brick and mortar stores need a way to connect in-store data with online data. A customer data platform is a good tool for that. Here’s an idea for how shoe stores can provide great service to their customers and also get more customer information. How can I find the right laces and polish for…
Summary: To work effectively in a customer data platform you have to understand the distinction between online and offline data, and how that distinction will affect your marketing efforts. This article explains. Here’s a tricky thing about Customer Data Platforms. On the one hand, you want to import all your customer data. That’s the point,…
What I hate most about my business is the need to promote myself. I’m not comfortable with that for two reasons: (1) it feels icky, and (2) this proverb rings in my ears: “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips.” I must have read that proverb…
Summary: Uploading customer data to a Customer Data Platform (CDP) doesn’t automatically link it to web behavior. Despite having detailed offline data, online interactions remain anonymous until identified through common identifiers like email. Strategies to link these include personalized emails, sign-up incentives, and registration requirements, which help unify customer profiles for customized web experiences. I’ve…
Summary: Composability in software is somewhat like Tuco customizing a revolver in “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.” In software, composability would mean selecting only desired components to avoid redundant functions and inefficiencies. However, in reality, software lacks standardized connectors, leading to issues with compatibility and integration. Companies like Apple deliberately maintain incompatibility with…
View here Summary: A quick method for enriching your online profiles with email addresses involves passing a hashed email or unique identifier via a URL query parameter. However, this approach can cause trouble if the URL is shared or forwarded. This article explains some ways to make it work without corrupting your data. One of…
Watch here Summary: This article discusses the benefits of using Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) in retail, emphasizing their ability to integrate customer data from various sources for a comprehensive view. It highlights practical applications like personalized product recommendations, targeted mailings, and custom in-store experiences using QR codes and customer data. The author, experienced in CDPs…
Summary: The article emphasizes the importance of investigating “edge cases” in marketing. While marketers usually focus on major factors, unexpected scenarios (edge cases) can be crucial. Examples include unexpected customer behavior, actions in unplanned environments, or changes in regulations. The article highlights instances where “edge case” is used as an excuse or when it represents…
If you’re considering a customer data platform, here are a few big picture ideas to keep in mind. People like to say the devil is in the details, but I think the devil is more clever than that, so if you want to avoid disaster you need both the bird’s eye view and the snail’s-eye…