Real-Time Identity Resolution Enables Marketing in the Moment

Marketing is rapidly evolving towards a common goal of delivering highly personalized customer experiences in the moment, and marketers need to strongly evaluate identity resolutionOpens a new window capabilities as a core asset required to achieve these goals. Matt Austin, Vice President, Identity Management at Merkle discusses how organizations must invest in the proper identity resolution technology to deliver on this vision.

Marketing is rapidly evolving towards a common goal of delivering highly personalized customer experiences in the moment. Marketers need to strongly evaluate identity resolution capabilities as a core asset required to achieve these goals. Consider what does it really take to deliver truly personalized experiences in the moment? Traditional marketing execution platforms are an obvious answer and the industry is overflowing with various options to orchestrate the marketing process. However, it also takes a fundamental understanding of the customer which is enabled through identity resolution.

But what about delivering these customer experiences in the moment? Identity resolution historically has been positioned as a batch-oriented process run as part of routine data update cycle. The batch identity resolution process delivers a broad set of features but is not timely enough to properly support marketing experiences in the moment. This is where real-time identity resolution comes into play.  

Through real-time identity resolution, marketers gain access to: rich customer profiles, customer preferences, first-party identity graphOpens a new window , and identifiable behaviors and interactions. Access to this information in turn informs the marketing technology assets to properly orchestrate the customer experience at any time and on any platform.

Organizations must invest in the proper identity resolution technology to deliver on this vision. Not only will organizations move towards the goal of delivering highly personalized customer experiences in the moment, but they will also achieve a competitive advantage relative to their peers.

Also Read: Alleviating Data Management and Analytical Challenges Using A Cloud-Based ApproachOpens a new window

What is real-time identity resolution?

Let’s start by defining identity resolution. Simply stated, identity resolution is the ability to manage and connect identity based on signals such as name, email, address, phone, cookie, and device ID, to name a few. Real-time identity resolution enables these capabilities in a sub-second, always-on model. In other words, it doesn’t rely solely on a batch services which introduce latency and slow down true person-based marketing in the moment.

Ultimately, the real-time identity resolution capability provides the ability to derive instantaneous customer identity and intelligence. Customer identity and intelligence becomes the fuel which powers the marketing technology engine. A well-tuned marketing technology engine becomes the vehicle which drives outstanding customer experiences in the moment.

How does real-time identity resolution enable marketing in the moment?

Customer profile access: Real-time identity resolution provides the ability to ingest customer signals such as name, email, or digital identifier and distill the information to a singular identity. The identity in turn is used to access the customer profile which may include personalization details, rich identity enhancement data, predictive attributes, and analytic segmentation. These data points play a role in delivering highly personalized and relevant engagements. Each component of the technology stack must have access, in real-time, to the customer profile to deliver on this potential.

Preference management: As marketing continues to move toward a customer-first approach, preference management is crucial to honor the customer’s wishes while staying marketing compliant. Having the ability to identify the customer in real-time, access and apply their preferences, and manage their preference changes ongoing is vitally important. Real-time identity resolution not only enables precise preference management, it also helps establish a centralized preference management system. Centralizing your marketing preferences provides the ability to access these preferences from across the technology stack to make marketing compliant omnichannel decisions.

Identity graph access: Real-time identity resolution provides instant access to the first-party identity graph to promote the rapid exchange of customer data across technology platforms. The identity graph is the complete set of first-party identifiers which are collected from technology platforms and ultimately associated to a customer identity. The identity graph becomes the currency of data exchange across various technology platforms. Direct communication across technology platforms using native key(s) from the identity graph eliminates the need for additional data synchronization or identity matching. Real-time identification and data exchange provide the opportunity to process customer actions in one platform and turn these actions into relevant experiences in another platform.

Event identification and distribution: With access to the identity information from the customer profile, marketers can also establish identity on events generated in real-time across a broad spectrum of platforms. Identifying customer events in the moment provides the ability to inform other interaction platforms about customer intent. Pairing identity resolution with event processing is also imperative for getting the most out of your customer data platform (“CDP”). Establishing an identifiable event pipe into the CDP creates a wealth of potential for marketers to shape highly relevant and intelligent customer journeys across interaction points.

Also Read: Four Essentials to Implementing a People-Based Marketing StrategyOpens a new window

What components are required in a real-time identity resolution solution?

Establishing a real-time identity resolution capability can be achieved through a variety of technology approaches. Some organizations may attempt to fully develop their own solutions, while other organizations look to buy and integrate components. In either scenario, several core components must be considered:

• Person-based identity resolution: identifiable person-based data such as name, address and email provide the identity nucleus to build upon
• Data enhancement: augmentation of the person-based identity through properly sourced third-party data provides the information to establish rich customer profile and analytical insights
• Digital identity resolution: association of digital signals such as cookies, device IDs, and first-party technology platform identifiers to the person-based identity to complete the identity graph
• Compliance and privacy: application of legal, industry, and organizational privacy standards coupled with customer friendly policies and preference management capabilities
• Technology framework: proper technology-based services to enable the components in a real-time manner
   

Also Read: Key Principles for a Successful CDP AdoptionOpens a new window

A comprehensive real-time identity resolution strategy should be considered a foundational component required to deliver extraordinary customer experiences in the moment. Whether organizations partner with a provider (or set of providers) or embark to deliver these capabilities in house, investment in real-time identity resolution will help organizations achieve a competitive edge. Delivering extraordinary customer experiences increases potential for conversions, brand loyalty, and ultimately bottom line marketing performance.