The MarTech of Future: IoT-compatible CDP
By 2030, the number of IoT connections worldwide is going to reach 50 billion.[1] The resulting amount of data within the reach of marketers is going to create a wide range of opportunities, but only if the data is well-managed. Marketers were already reeling under the pressure of unifying and driving insights from multiple sources of data — CRM, cookies, email, apps etc. This gave rise to technologies such as Customer Data Platforms that act as a single point of truth for all customer data. Now, an additional deluge of information through Internet of Things has forced marketers to rethink their usage of technology.
IoT offers continuous streams of unstructured data, unlike CRM data which consists of structured information such as names, addresses and website interactions. The information is generated real-time and value is created, mostly if the reaction is also real-time. IoT data is complex, and insights can only be generated if relevant events are extracted while discarding the non-essential data. Many a times, information from multiple IoT sources must be combined in real-time to provide the right customer interaction. Nevertheless, most of the information from IoT sources are connected to known individuals, unless users have specifically opted out of sharing of information. This helps in tying information from varied sources to a single individual. However, this also means that marketers are dealing with highly sensitive personal information and hence must ensure that the data is well-protected.[2]
Despite the challenges of working with IoT data, it creates innumerable number of opportunities which were previously impossible for marketers. IoT-enabled CDP can handle high volumes of this real-time streaming data, extract significant events, conduct advanced parsing and offer a dependable connection between all the marketing systems. Since, IoT data can be sensitive in nature, CDPs can be leveraged to trace the usage of customer’s information. Customer Data Platforms also integrate siloed IoT data into a unified 360-degree view trusted source to undertake marketing analytics and deliver a range of benefits –
Location-based personalization — Mobile devices have become ubiquitous in our lives and are also a source of location-based data for marketers. Companies can use CDP to combine location data with other CRM information to offer more targeted and personalized offers in real-time.
Hyper-personalized Offers & Discounts — Internet of Things will allow marketers to understand their customers at a granular level. Instead of bombarding customers with ill-timed offers and discounts with extremely low conversion rates, marketers can communicate tailor-made offers targeted to a specific client. By leveraging the power of connected wearables or other IoT devices, these promotions can be automatically triggered based on certain conditions such as — while visiting a shop or retail section, buying a related product, interacting with particular services etc.
Pre-empting customer requirements & issues — Customers go through the arduous tasks of filing their complaints via age old IVRs, e-mails, or customer representatives, resulting in substandard customer experiences. IoT connected devices can be leveraged to pre-initiate redressal before customers connect for issues. Any defects arising in products can be pre-notified to the manufacturers. Further, IoT can capture repeat purchases and notify the customers about stock replenishment.
These and many other use cases would not be possible without the power of automation. The amount of data generated would be too much to be handled through manual interventions. Only automation, powered by CDPs, can help marketers create meaningful insights out of data. Marketers can leverage AI and machine learning to conduct predictive analytics and generate content for marketing campaigns. The need to enhance customer experience through IoT has only increased the requirement for advanced CDP.
