Now that we have covered the benefits a Customer Data Platform (CDP) can provide to dealers, it is time to examine the basic building blocks which form these powerful tools. On this episode of Auto Marketing Now, host Brian Pasch, founder of PCG Companies and auto marketing expert, continues his new series exploring CDPs, what they have to offer and why dealers should start using these products.
Digital identity and identity resolution
Everyone has some form of digital identity, a kind of composite sketch which companies build from website data. By tracking the actions a user takes while visiting a site, analysis tools can determine their interests over time, allowing businesses to accurately target their marketing. Many websites use these profiles to recommend products which fit the user’s needs while they browse the internet. For dealers, CDPs can help to de-mistify the identities of their otherwise anonymous website visitors, giving them greater insight into their customer base and opening the door for targeted marketing.
Entity resolution
However, while it is possible to create these digital profiles just by tracking online activity, figuring out who these individuals are requires more information. By asking site visitors to share their identifying information with a contact form (while following privacy and content rules), businesses can begin to associate names, emails and phone numbers with user data. This is entity resolution, and it can open up new opportunities to engage with customers. Since most dealerships already have multiple ways for customers to provide their details both in-store and online, retailers already have the data necessary for a CDP to effectively generate these profiles.
Household resolution
This takes entity resolution a step further. While digital identities are profiles of single individuals, household identities consist of groups. To do this, companies collect data from numerous sites to search for connections. For example, if a business finds two people with the same last name and address, they can placed into a digital household. While the process of uncovering these relationships can be extremely difficult, CDPs typically integrate the necessary tools, although Pasch warns the effectiveness varies between platforms. Businesses can then use this information to further refine their outreach. Users in the household also expose each other to marketing, increasing the likelihood that a targeted advertisement will lead to an eventual sale.
When choosing a CDP to tackle identity, entity or household resolution, Pasch encourages dealers to select the right product. Ideally, the platform they ultimately choose must be able to not only collect the data, but also generate identities, write reports and make the profiles available when needed. This way, whenever a sales agent or customer service representative speaks with a potential buyer, they can know who they are speaking to and what the individual’s needs are simply based on their digital profile.
