Defining Customer Data Platform Use-Cases and Outcomes for CDP Success

Defining ‘use-cases’ can make or break your Customer Data Platform (CDP) deployment.

I don’t mean to be negative, but lots of factors can lead to a CDP deployment failing. In Issue 7 of The CDP Explainer SeriesOpens a new window , four enterprise-size companies that have successfully deployed a CDP platform shared their real-life deployment experiences and journeys.

Based on interviews from Executives at Keurig Dr. Pepper in CPG; Telenor from Telecom; the IM Group (Subaru) from Automotive and Raycom Sports from Media & Entertainment, we counted down the top reasons for a deployment failure:

5. Lack of skillsets and domain expertise associated with marketing database concepts

4. Changes in the technology stack that can derail your deployment/Incomplete or misalignment of technologies to host the CDP 

3. Data integration, incomplete data sourcing requirements, and poorly designed marketing channel integrations

2. Failing to get buy-in/lack of funding and/or poor advocacy for the CDP across senior levels (seeing the CDP Deployment as an ‘IT Project’ instead of a marketing project) and users

1. But the number 1 reason for a failed deployment that was common to all Executives was: not having solid initial use-cases or over-complicating your initial use cases.

  Why is having your specific use-cases defined so vital to successful CDP deployment?

As enterprise marketers, you will agree, that today, there is no dearth of either data or the technology to ‘drive business value’ from it. Depending on your context, there are a range of ways to approach the question of managing customer data effectively. Within the CDP industry alone, there are multiple models, multiple ways to deploy them, and of course, more vendors than ever. Where can an Enterprise marketer begin?

No matter what solution you finally choose and deploy, there is a unanimous view – both of vendors and users who have successfully (or unsuccessfully) deployed CDP – that the starting point is always 3-fold:

• Prioritize your use-cases
• Check your readiness
• Define desired outcomes
   

Without this clarity, it would be almost impossible to pick the right customer data platformOpens a new window vendor or drive any credible business outcomes from your investment in Customer Data ManagementOpens a new window . Let’s look at these in more detail:

1. Prioritize your use cases: This is all about clarity on why you need the CDP in the first place. What is your priority and your challenge? Do you need a unified view of the customer to enable greater real-time personalization? Do you need stronger data governance and regulatory compliance? Do you want more high-quality data to power your AI/ML initiatives? What are your unique use-cases?
2. Check your readiness: Readiness is not just investment readiness. It’s about cultural readiness. The right stakeholder buy-ins. The right internal skill sets and partner ecosystem. The data readiness. The systems and processes and workflows.
3. Define your outcomes: Most people confuse use-cases with outcomes. While use-cases are an area of application of the solution, outcomes are the transformed state you desire. It could be anything from higher retention rate to lower churn; risk mitigation with data security; higher conversions from real-time personalization, etc. It all depends of course on the use-cases themselves.
    

B2C Enterprises Marketers, don’t miss this opportunity

Getting started on defining use-cases is truly an art in itself. Distractions abound. Multiple stakeholder agendas can confuse. For B2C Enterprise Marketers, the sheer volume and complexity of data itself is a cause for analysis paralysis.

MTA’s continued editorial focus on Customer Data Management brings B2C Enterprise Marketers this unmissable discussion on defining CDP use-cases with industry thought and practice leaders. Titled ‘Defining CDP Success with 5 Must-have Use Cases for Enterprises’, you’ll get access to 30 minutes of focused discussion on the key questions that will help you define your CDP use cases – without any distractions and confusion! By the end of the webinar, you will be inspired to define your own use cases; be able to take stock of your readiness and finally, be able to articulate your desired business outcomes. In short – all that you need to set up your customer data platform software deployment for success.

Save your seat for this webinar by clicking hereOpens a new window , and we will see you on the 7^th of March 2019, at 11 am ET.