Unlocking the Benefits of a Customer Data Platform [with on-demand ...

Marketers know they need to better manage and mobilize their customer data if they're going to be competitive in the future. They know this is becoming more critical as third-party cookies sunset, as consumer expectations for great omnichannel experiences rise, and as data-hungry AI becomes woven into operations. And they're pretty sure that a customer data platform (CDP) is the foundational piece that they need.

However, many face a litany of challenges in getting one implemented. Those challenges include:

• Confusion around exactly what a CDP is and isn't
• Understanding the most popular and powerful use cases for a CDP
• Getting buy-in for a CDP

In the 48-minute on-demand webinar below, we discuss all three of those challenges. However, in the remainder of this post, we focus on that last challenge around getting buy-in and working with various stakeholders to get a CDP implemented and running successfully.

When thinking about the issue of buy-in and working with stakeholders, the critical first step is to recognize that a customer data platform is not a marketing solution or sales solution or service solution.

An Enterprise Solution

Because a CDP impacts marketing, IT, sales, service, and many other departments, it's an enterprise-wide endeavor. In organizations where technology vendor and partner selections have been owned by departments, a CDP can be a tough process to navigate. With that in mind, let's take a look at ways to accelerate the buy-in process.

Since CDPs span the entire enterprise, it requires a holistic plan and for all the stakeholders to work together. When thinking about systems change, we like to use the following framework, which has 5 key components to successful systems change: vision and strategy, organization, roadmap/planning, skills and resources, and process.

Each of these is critical to success and when any component is missing, organizations experience some kind of roadblock. Getting buy-in should ensure you've given consideration to each of these areas. Let's look at some of the ways we can do that.

Debunking the top 5 myths about CDP.

Getting Enterprise Stakeholders Involved

First, you need to define who should be in the discussion or part of the CDP mobilization team. Again, because a CDP affects your entire organization, you'll want a small but mighty team with varying roles involved. We generally recommend the following:

• An executive sponsor or sponsor(s)to back the vision of the project and help sell it throughout the organization
• Key business stakeholdersacross marketing, sales, service, and legal, since they'll all be affected by a CDP
• IT, as they'll have an integral role in defining how a CDP gets deployed
• External partners and consultants, who may be providing support for your CDP rollout

Is your organization exhibiting these 5 signs your marketing and sales teams need a CDP.

Collaborating with Other Groups

It's not uncommon for more than one group within an organization to be simultaneously and independently considering a CDP, so we recommend reaching out to other departments to see if that's the case in your organization. Needless to say, deploying more than one CDP completely defeats the purpose of a CDP.

If other groups have already begun the process of doing research and developing justifications, then joining forces builds on the existing momentum and avoids duplicate work. Connecting with other groups will also help you identify and understand potential political roadblocks. The very nature of a CDP is to break down some organizational silos that have been in place for a long time-for so long that some may prefer to keep them in place.

As you work toward CDP justification, consider:

• Budgeting and funding: Who would own the funding of a CDP?
• Existing solutions, process, and operations: How is a CDP going to affect your current systems and roles? In other words, what change management is needed?
• Competing priorities: What other changes are happening in your organization that might interfere with a CDP being implemented?

Understand the most popular use cases for an Oracle Unity CDP across industries.

Developing an Effective ROI

Given that CDPs can do so much and that they're designed to scale over time, we find that some organizations actually struggle to develop return on investment projections. This is why it's so important to identify clear challenges and define the CDP use cases up front that will solve those challenges.

We find our clients are the most successful when they identify one or two strong use cases to start with. As discussed at length in the on-demand webinar above, we find the following 5 use cases to be the most common and powerful. Which will you focus on?

• Gaining much more accurate identity resolution across channels
• Unifying and enhancing data to drive intelligence and visibility
• Getting greater accessibility for building audiences and segments across channels
• Creating highly personalized experiences based on all of a consumer's brand interactions
• Fueling artificial intelligence applications

Mapping out the impact of a CDP across a small number of use cases allows you to more easily quantify the benefit, which can then be weighed against the costs, including the cost of the platform itself, implementation support both internally and with partner vendors, and potentially net new hiring.

Again, that limited number of use cases is just for starters.After you get those implemented and you're seeing a positive ROI, you can then use your CDP to solve for additional use cases and grow your ROI even more.

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Need help exploring or implementing a customer data platform? Oracle Digital Experience Agencyhas hundreds of marketing and communication experts ready to help Oraclecustomers create stronger connections with their customers, partners, and employees. Handling everything from creative and strategy to content planning and project management, we consistently exceed our clients' expectations, earning a customer satisfaction rate of 96%.

Explore the capabilities of the Oracle Unity customer data platform.

For help overcoming your challenges or seizing your opportunities, talk to your Oracle account manager, visit us online, or email us at [email protected].

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