are 4 ways to make your CDP implementation a success

You’ve likely heard of customer information platforms (CDPs). One of these benefits is the ability monitor site traffic and then “stitch” (or connect) this information to other data sources within your tech stack.

This is true. However, there are some things you should be aware of during the CDP implementation. These are just a few of the many choices that could have an enormous impact on the audience size and ability to connect website behavior with other internally stored data.

Did you also know that your CDP tag “fires” (i.e. when your website allows it to start its monitoring and tracking) can impact your analytics and metrics.

Imagine this: You work at Company Z. Your company has invested a lot of resources (time and money, people, etc.). To create a great website. The front-end, also known as “the website”, is full of opportunities to collect loads of visitor data. There are forms here, newsletter subscriptions there, etc.

What about the back-end? A shiny CDP already connected to your CRM system.

This must be the key to unlocking the golden ticket. This is the formula for 100% data connectivity between site visits, first-party authenticated and data. It’s not so easy.

Here are some of the insignificant but potentially important points for CDP implementation and integration.

1. Who is responsible for (or had to handle) the integration of CDP within your company?

Who is the user day-to-day? Do they provide self-service or are they managed by the CDP provider It is not usually the same group. (But, if they are — hooray!)

Don’t worry if they aren’t (i.e. the traditional IT/marketing mix), This scenario is dependent on knowledge. It is important to identify key stakeholders and to align yourself with them as closely as possible during implementation.

Learn more: 10 CDP Implementation Mistakes to Avoid

2. What is the connection to the CDP

What other data sources are being “connected” to your ideal customer profile? Let’s keep this article to three parts.

• CRM is the system that generates a form (e.g., email subscription, lead forms, etc.) and also the repository for visitor information submitted via these forms.
• Website is where visitors land, click on fascinating information about your company and serves as the “host” to the CRM’s “form”.
• CDP is the system that places a tag on your site, tracks visitor click behavior and captures the data via the form (depending upon your CDP setup). Finally, it fulfills its promise by “connecting” the site visitor data with the authenticated data (i.e. form fill).

This may be a moment to pause and reflect on your knowledge of the systems connected and the teams responsible for the various interconnections. I have complete data dictionary for each platform so it’s not a problem.

It’s great if you can do all that. Here’s the twist…

3. When will your CDP start to fire?

This scenario is likely to sound familiar.

Visitors arrive at your website and are immediately presented with an illustrated consent questioning form (i.e. “Do you consent?”) and all the fine print (i.e. types of cookies, their meanings, and options to accept or reject them globally, etc. ).

Uh-oh… Did your CDP deploy before or after the question was asked? What cookie category is your CDP linked to? Are you looking for advertising, analytics or marketing? Functional or essential? Are they the same worldwide? Is there an additional system that records the cookie opt-in?

Are all of these things really important? Perhaps.

The statistics on cookie acceptance are affected by many factors such as geography, consent regulations (i.e. GDPR), “cookie cultural” and other factors.

To get a better idea of your situation, it is a good idea to consult your internal team.

Here are two potential scenarios.

1:CDP tags “fires” immediately after the website loads. This scenario allows site visitors to begin to be tracked and captured before they are served the cookie notification or taken action (which can vary greatly, as mentioned above).

This basically means that you have captured site behavior on an individual basis before cookie acceptance (or reject). This could provide valuable analytical opportunities to explore (e.g., site abandonment or length of time on site before cookie engagement, etc. ).

2 CDP tags “fire” when cookie consent has been accepted or denied. Are your metrics correct? This scenario could lead to your site visits and the number of profiles your CDP created being out of sync. The CDP cannot begin tracking until the site visitor takes definitive action, unless your cookie settings have been set to default to “accept” instead of “reject”.

4. Is your CDP tag still firing?

Are you deploying your tag directly to your website? Is it one of many tags, pixels or other goodies being deployed by your tag management software?

While either setup is acceptable, it’s important to understand and appreciate the downstream implications of each.

Let’s take, for example, a marketer who plans to activate audiences in your CDP platform. Instead of pushing segments to another platform like CRM, you plan to activate audiences and create them in your CDP platform.

You will need to look at each data field in the CDP to create your own audiences.

You may not be able to see every aspect of your website’s behavior depending on the location your CDP tag fires.

This is how it works. Let’s suppose you launch your tag using a tag management software, but that you don’t have the CDP to integrate this system. This can sometimes lead to what you might call a “data wall”. Here, site traffic that the CDP has captured is being stored in the tag management system. You’d need access to that platform to decipher the data.

Another option is to place a CDP tag on your site. This will allow you to see the site’s behavior in your CDP platform, and create audiences.

Get deeper: How you can ensure success for your CDP initiative

Set up your CDP to ensure success

This is not a recommendation for one method over another. This is simply advice that I feel will help you build a solid foundation for your CDP.

You may not be able or willing to go into such detail. Aligning yourself with the relevant stakeholders is a good alternative to getting a positive outcome.

These contacts can help you use their subject knowledge to get to your goals faster.

Now that you have the answers to these questions, you can also prepare yourself to dive into the dynamic and ever-changing CDP landscape.

MarTech first published the post 4 Tips for a Great CDP Implementation.