Author: Patricia Vázquez

2022 has been a key year for Customer Data Platforms. According to data provided by Deloitte, high growth brands are leading this change, with 61% moving to a first-party data strategy, while just 41% of low-growth brands are doing so.

The prohibition of third-party cookies and the obligation to use own data or customers who demand increasingly personalized experiences are some of the reasons that have driven this growth, which is expected to continue in 2023. 

But what else can we expect? Here are 4 trends that will shape CDPs in 2023: 

1. Increased adoption of CDPs by companies

Omnichannel strategies

The arrival of COVID-19, the new ways of buying (ROPO, Showrooming), or the constant raise of online buying, are some of the causes of the increased need of companies to develop omnichannel strategies, in order to unify their channels and their customer data through the whole brand.

Customers demand a better customer experience

Communication and generalized customer treatment is a thing of the past. Customer experience has positioned itself as a key factor for customers to stay with a brand or abandon it to the point where 86% of consumers would be willing to pay more if it meant a better and more personalized customer experience.

Obtaining relevant insights from Customer Data

Personalization and digital transformation also means receiving much larger amounts of data from our customers. Therefore, it becomes necessary to have a system that stores, organizes and processes data properly.

2. The Customer Data Platform (CDP) concept takes hold and is divided into subcategories.

While it is true that there are markets such as the U.S. where this type of platform is already well established, there are others where CDPs are just beginning to gain momentum.

At the moment, according to the CDP Institute’s Member Survey 2022, more than 60% of clients understand that the main functionalities of this type of platform are unified views of clients and the loading of data from different sources.

The year 2023 is expected to serve as a turning point and leave behind doubts about what these platforms are, what they do and how they can help a company. In the same way, it is estimated that a greater expansion of the knowledge of these platforms and their benefits will help the implementation in companies to understand how they can fit them into their MarTech strategies.

It is also expected that vendors will begin to differentiate into subcategories (pure data, analytics and campaigns) to help customers quickly identify capabilities and benefits.

3. Increased concern for data privacy

41% of consumers globally say their trust in digital service providers’ ability to keep personal data secure has decreased. By storing data in a Platform regulated under the strict GDPR protection will ensure a much safer environment for Customer’s Data.

We know how important it is to protect your customers’ data. That’s why at FLYDE we comply with legal and data protection obligations. You can find out how here.

4. Easy to use CDP platforms

The complexity of analyzing large amounts of data from different sources and processing them has made most of the CDP platforms on the market very technical. While it is true that there are companies with large IT teams, we can also find others in which the burden of these actions falls on teams with little technical knowledge that make it very difficult to use these tools properly.

Some suppliers are opting to facilitate some of the tools that make up their platforms, although there is still a long way to go as these changes require time and investment. However, it is still important: CDP platforms are becoming more and more transversal to all company departments. Sharing unified profiles, sharing data, cross-referencing and processing them in real time or generating strategies from them are just some of the common processes that we can find in any company on a daily basis.

For this reason, marketing and sales professionals, among other departments, are looking for greater autonomy when generating campaigns, cross-referencing data, etc., and thus avoiding funnels and waiting times.

WHY FLYDE?

Do you want your company to move on to the next level? A CDP is the key tool that will allow you to maximize the potential of your data and grow your business. Working like the big multinationals in the market, which already have this type of software, and having control over all your data is now very simple.

Moreover, if you do not have IT or Data Scientist teams, this tool will allow you to outsource this function. And if you have them but want to reduce their workload and give more autonomy to your marketing and business teams when it comes to working with data, implementing an easy-to-use CDP would be the best option for your company. It will allow any single member of your company to use it, as this softwares are prepared for them. 

CDP or Customer Data Platform market is growing exponentially. Once you have understood the utility of a CDP you may start to think on implementing a CDP in your company. However, how would you be able to know which CDP best suits your company? To solve this question we have developed a list with the main aspects that will help you make this important decision.

1. Do I need a CDP in my company?

Modern companies, no matter their size or sector, generate a massive quantity of data, both from its online and offline customers and channels. The problem of the majority of the companies is that they don’t use this data properly and, therefore, a complete or partial lack of knowledge of their customers and their behaviours.

A CDP helps companies unlock the full value of their customers in a very simple way: by unifying, collating and analysing all of their data from a single platform, enabling a complete understanding of their customers.

It is therefore an essential tool for any company that generates a large volume of data, is not getting the most out of it and needs to have a solid and complete customer database.

2. Is my data safe in a CDP?

The majority of the CDP offer a large list of guarantees, in terms of data-protection. However, they tend tto limit their data protection to the legislation of the region where it is settled, so it is always better to choose a CDP that comes from a territory with strong legislation in this area.

The United States, and especially Europe, have the most advanced legislation in terms of data protection, so it is always preferable to opt for a CDP from a company that comes from these territories bearing in mind that, in addition, if the CDP is European, it will guarantee compliance with the most advanced and secure data protection regulation on the market.

Not only that, at FLYDE we also offer you full internal control over data governance so that you can define which users have permission to which data, among other features.

3. Which functionalities should I look at in a CDP?

Every CDP should have the minimum requirement covered. However there are many functionalities that may vary in between the different CDPs.

Firstly, it is essential that the CDP fits with the expectations of your business. That is, thanks to the platform and its functionalities, meeting the objectives of the different areas is simple and can be done in a coordinated way between departments. For this, there are two fundamental points: analyse the tools available (more info about FLYDE Apps) and the ease of use of the platform. To make sure that the platform is what you are looking for, we recommend you to make a DEMO, this way you will ensure that anyone in your team can use it and you will see the platform in operation with real data.

Other functionalities that would make a big change in between the different CDPs is the use of Artificial Intelligence in the platform. The AI is the future when crossed over with huge quantities of Data and it would suppose a radical change to your customer comprehension.

Finally, other important features to look for in a CDP are those that are aligned to your business and objectives.

For example, if you have a loyalty programme, you will probably be interested in having a Dynamic Scoring. If you have an eCommerce with online and offline customers, a Single Customer View with a 360-degree view of the customer, or if you work taking into account KPIs by geographic area, a Geomarketing tool.

4. Could I integrate the different apps my company uses in the CDP?

As we have mentioned previously, a key feature of CDP’s is the ability to unify your company’s data in a single platform. A Customer Data Platform enables your company to integrate every single app used in order to unify all of your data. From Social Media to CSV files, through Shopify or the CRM your company is using, a CDP allows you to integrate all of these data sources to look at and analyse all of that data on a single platform.

Is it fundamental when choosing a CDP to look at the number of integrations available? Definitely not as long as the CDP provider offers to integrate your existing applications even if they are not in their current portfolio of integrations.

5. How much does a CDP cost?

We know that price when choosing a CDP, as well as in any other platform, is crucial. There is a huge range of prices in the CDP market depending on different characteristics that define each company.

One of the most important is the need for the support of a technical team or Data Scientist. This will make the CDP more expensive, as the more complex the CDP is to use, the higher the costs of its implementation and subsequent use will be.

The price is also influenced by whether you have technical services, the amount of functionalities you hire or the use of data, among other factors. Due to all these variable factors there is no fixed price range. Our recommendation is that you contact us and discover all the possibilities through a demo or a free trial.

Why FLYDE?

Do you want your company to move on to the next level? A CDP is the key tool that will allow you to maximise the potential of your data and grow your business. Working like the big multinationals in the market, which already have this type of software, and having control over all your data is now very simple.

Moreover, if you do not have IT or Data Scientist teams, this tool will allow you to outsource this function. And if you have them but want to reduce their workload and give more autonomy to your marketing and business teams when it comes to working with data, implementing an easy-to-use CDP would be the best option for your company. It will allow any single member of your company to use it, as this softwares are prepared for them.

In FLYDE we have launched 2022 with a new functionality that will surely be of great value for your company. It is Dynamic Scoring and you can find it in the FLYDE Market application. Below we tell you what it is, how it works and the advantages of having such a tool in your company. 

What is Dynamic Scoring?

The progress that has been made in recent years in data analytics has allowed companies to have a much more complete and real vision of their customers. This in turn has helped to generate personalized experiences, to have an offer fully adapted to customers, and for companies to be able to create appropriate strategies that improve our economic performance.

Therefore, knowing where the customer is in the life cycle has become indispensable. By being aware of this, we will be able to avoid abandonment, meet their needs and increase satisfaction.

This is where Dynamic Scoring comes into play, a tool that, although it offers many interesting possibilities, is mainly used to classify customers from a commercial point of view and to know where they are in their life cycle.

In this way, creating appropriate strategies for each stage is much simpler and the chances of success are much greater since the actions are much more targeted: what may work for a new customer is not the same as what may work for a customer who is about to abandon the brand or who has already been a buyer.

How does it work?

The way Dynamic Scoring works in FLYDE is very simple. To carry it out, the first thing you have to do is to define some classification criteria that will serve as a filter to sort your customers. These criteria can vary, ranging from demographic criteria to actions performed such as visiting a specific page, opening emails, etc.

Once these criteria are defined, customers will be automatically segmented into different segments. In this way we will have them classified according to the point in which they are with respect to our company and we will be able to perform targeted actions on them.

For example, if in the scoring we detect that there is a group of customers who have reduced the number of purchases in our company in the last 6 months, it may be time to offer them some advantage or to contact them to motivate them to become recurring customers again.

Another interesting point of Dynamic Scoring is that each criterion has its own maximum and minimum scores, and that client information is updated in real time. In this way, customers can stay at their current threshold, exceed it or move to a lower threshold.

Returning to the previous example, if one of the customers returns to his previous sales levels, it is possible that he will change to a different bracket and, therefore, our actions on him will also be modified, since the objective will be, for example, to increase them even more or to increase our company’s spending.

Other possible applications

In addition to those mentioned above, there are other marketing-oriented applications of scoring that may be of interest. Some examples are:

• Qualifying customers: according to the point of the buying process in which they are in order to be able to direct some actions or others.
  
  • Purchase frequencies: to know when a customer will be ready to buy again or which customers buy more from us.
  • Churn: to know which customers are more likely to leave our company.
  • Loyalty: identify when customers become fans of the brand.
  • CLTV: identify which customers have more potential to have a more lasting relationship with our company.
• Behavioral patterns.
• Detect negative experiences: know which customers have had negative experiences in their relationship with the company in order to improve their opinion.
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Benefits for your company

Taking into account all of the above, we can affirm that Dynamic Scoring is not only a classification tool, but has other very interesting applications that translate into numerous benefits for the company.

Segmenting our customers according to criteria and prioritizing them will allow us to create much more appropriate strategies for each one, resulting not only in an increase in profits but also in an improvement in customer relations.

In addition, our company and customer strategies will be much more aligned and will allow us to detect specific patterns that will be very useful when making business decisions. In short, a great number of advantages.

Dynamic Scoring in FLYDE

At FLYDE we know that each company has its own business objectives and we want to help you achieve them. Therefore, each client can create their own dynamic scorings based on their own criteria in a very easy to use and visual tool. In addition, it is complemented by other applications of the platform that will allow you to have an even deeper insight into your customers.

Have you ever stopped to think about how much data your company has access to? Transactional, demographic, behavioral data… Anonymous data such as impressions, data on customer purchases or cancellations, etc. In short, huge amounts of very valuable information. 

The main problem is to use them properly, as confirmed by the study conducted by Rethink Data, which shows that 68% of the data generated by companies is not used. This is due to their storage in silos, the fact that they are treated in isolation and with tools that are independent of each other, which makes it difficult to create correlations between them, favors the loss of information and involves a much more costly and complex process for your company. 

In an ideal situation, therefore, all this data would be collected, stored and processed on a single platform. This is where CDPs come into play. Here’s what they are and what benefits they can offer your company.

What is a CDP

According to the CDP Institute, a CDP or Customer Data Platform is “packaged software that creates a persistent, unified customer database that can be accessed by other systems“.

In other words, an ecosystem in which customer data is collected from different sources and unified into a single database. The data is cleansed, enriched and transformed into a complete customer profile that can then be used to generate audiences and/or made available to other systems in order to create more personalized campaigns and strategies with data updated in real time. 

To understand it in a simpler way, here is an example: Imagine that your company is going to launch a campaign and needs to know its customers well. With your CDP you would collect the information available at all points of contact (own data, social networks or email, among others), clean and unify that data and create an easily understandable 360 profile. And not only that. Once the profiles have been created, you could segment them by audiences to work with those that are most suitable to your objectives and export them to other platforms, such as Facebook Ads or Mailchimp. All in a fast, automated and easy way.

What benefits can a CDP bring to your company

1. They offer a unique view of the customer

This type of platforms are designed to collect data from different sources, unify them and offer a concrete and very complete profile of the customer. Much more than any other tool.

2. Better customer experience

Users are using more and more channels and devices. We have also become more demanding, demanding unified experiences across all channels. Having all the information available on the same platform allows us to know the customer and their behavior in depth. This makes it much easier to design personalized strategies that build customer loyalty, and to change and improve them according to the actions they take.

3. Democratize data

Customer data plays a role in all areas of a company: from marketing to customer service, to IT, and so on. Therefore, its use and exchange becomes indispensable when it comes to driving a business forward. With a CDP, all information is updated and available to all departments of the company, avoiding dependencies, data loss and streamlining processes between areas.

4. Allows to be more competitive and to be more responsive

Knowing the customer in depth is key to create strategies and campaigns without blind spots, which are a success. With a CDP you get this and you can also react to changes in the market since the data is collected in real time. Your information will always be up to date. 

5. Greater agility and efficiency

As we mentioned before, one of the biggest problems in data processing is the use of different independent tools, which in turn causes a great fragmentation of data that makes it very difficult to work with them. A CDP solves this problem since it centralizes all these data in the same place, the changes in them are available and can be used later in those tools that are necessary, whatever the area, minimizing duplications and saving time. 

With FLYDE you get this and much more

FLYDE allows you to know in detail the customer, predict behaviors and analyze data in real time in an agile way, without bottlenecks and thanks to a system based on AI. In addition, any user can use it without any technical knowledge.

The third Monday in January is the most depressing day of the year. Is your business ready to turn that sadness into happiness for your customers? There are two things in your favor: the beginning of the week is the time when there is a greater tendency to buy and no one knows your shoppers better than you… or so it should be. 

A good exploitation of your customer data is the key to turn your Blue Monday into a sales success. If you have doubts about how to do it, here are some tips to help you get the most out of it.

Recommend products that are useful to THAT customer.

Personalize your offer as much as possible. Your customer doesn’t always have to know that there is a product in your catalog that perfectly meets their needs until they see it on screen or in your store. Therefore, make sure that this information reaches them. 

To help you, analyze behavioral data. Knowing who he is and what he needs will allow you to personalize what you are offering him.

Specific campaigns and promotions, not general ones

Targeting a teenager is not the same as targeting a person over 60. Interests, concerns and needs change completely. Keep in mind the following: general promotions do not generate the same ROI as targeted ones and 71% of consumers prefer personalized ads.

That’s why it’s so important to properly define your audiences, something that is still an unfinished business for more than 85% of marketers today.

Use your first-party data to draw complete profiles that tell you very specifically about your customers. Analyze their pain and gain points, and design promotions that increase their purchase intent with messages that convince them.

Remember the customers who have already trusted you

A loyal customer is a customer who costs less money and one who is more likely to recommend your company. That’s why generating a repeat purchase is so important. 

Filter your database by focusing on those customers who have purchased a product/service in the last few months and make them feel that they are important to you. Why not offer them, for example, a discount as a way of thanking them for having trusted your company?

And, of course, focus on positive and motivating content

In the end, it’s all about Blue Monday. Empathizing with your customers and making them smile is one of the key points that day to make the whole strategy a success. Remember: a customer who connects with your brand is much more valuable than one who is simply satisfied with their purchase. 

FLYDE helps you to get to know your customers

With FLYDE you can cross-reference your customer data from different sources to get a 360-degree view of your customers. We have the perfect tool for this: Customer 360. If you don’t know it yet, you can get more information here.