Customer Data Platforms: Key takeaways from our talk at the ASAE TEC conference
We were back in Washington D.C. recently to speak and exhibit at the ASAE TEC conference on December 2-4. We’re happy to report that the conference was a success! We met and learned from so many association and tech professionals that we’re bursting to share our new insights with our colleagues back at Wicket HQ.
Now that we’re back in the office, we wanted to take the time to share some key takeaways from our talk, ‘Understanding Customer Data Platforms and their Impact on Association Management’ for those of you who couldn’t make it to the conference this year.
These takeaways are only a taste of the entire talk. To access the full presentation, fill in this form to download.
It all begins with the marketer’s dilemma.
Customer data platforms or CDPs were created as a reaction to the essential dilemma marketers were having.
To begin, let’s look at the three critical needs of Marketers:
- They want to use the right tool for the right job
- They want to deliver amazing user experiences for their customers
- They need to provide this amazing user experience through an omnichannel approach
The dilemma, however, was that marketers seeking to check off those boxes would unknowingly create data silos. By using several tools that do their job well, user data spread across several tools. This made it challenging to provide a unified omnichannel experience to customers. It also fragmented the customer data picture; marketers couldn’t see their customer data across all touchpoints on the individual or aggregate level. Without a clear picture of customers at an individual level, it’s nearly impossible to tailor advertising, products, or services to the unique needs of the individuals. Likewise, without the aggregate data across all customers, it’s hard to pinpoint which marketing strategies are or aren’t working.
Have no fear, Customer Data Platforms are here!
Customer Data Platforms were created as a direct response to this need. These platforms are a type of ‘database’ software that keeps a persistent, unified, and accessible record of a company’s customers’ identity, transactional, and behavioral data.
This sounds great, but why does this matter to your association?
Does this dilemma sound familiar? We thought it would. Working closely with associations for so many years, we saw that so many member-based organizations were facing these specific challenges.
Today, Association Management Software (AMS) tends to have a broad feature set but lacks the depth needed to make those features great. As a result of insufficient features, associations seek better tools, adding each to their ecosystem of software. Getting multiple better tools means that associations will gain a better member experience. They will, however, be trading it for siloed member data and disjointed member experience. Now we’ve come to the associations’ unique dilemma.
Can we not have it all? Why can we not provide and track a fantastic omnichannel member experience while still being able to use tools that do their job really, really well?
There’s a better way, we promise.
Like Customer Data Platforms, Wicket’s Member Data Platform ™ (MDP) aims to solve this very dilemma for the very unique needs of member-based organizations. You shouldn’t have to compromise your members’ seamless omnichannel experience or your ability to analyze data across all member touchpoints.
An MDP will connect you to your favorite tools with the power of integrations. As your association grows, the tools you’ll need will shift. The flexibility of a solution like this will allow you to evolve the tools you’re using without disruption to your members or database.
Members will also enjoy a more seamless user experience. Features like single-sign-on ensure that no matter the touchpoint, they always feel like they’re interacting with your association. Because the MDP stores member data in one place, you’ll be able to start building relationship memory with your members. You’ll know them on an individual and aggregate level across all touchpoints. This means that you can better tailor communications, products, and services to them.
You’ll really be able to dig into your data with an MDP. First of all, your data will be much easier to maintain because all service apps will share data with each other through the MDP. That means you’ll enjoy the glory of one member list without ever having to update it in multiple places again. Your reporting and business intelligence tools will also benefit – you’ll now be able to report on data across the entirety of your member experience.
Do you ever ask these questions:
- Who are your members personally and professionally?
- How do they engage with your association on each channel?
- What drives and motivates them?
- What do they expect and want from your association?
With an MDP, these questions are all answerable.
Ok, where do you go from here?
By now, you might be asking yourself:
‘What should I be cautious of when considering a CDP?’
‘What does the technical implementation actually look like?’
‘What would it look like if your association switched to a CDP?’
Excellent questions (if we do say so ourselves). We’ve got those questions (and more) answered in our presentation from ASAE TEC! Grab your copy of the slides and dig in deeper with CDP’s and MDP’s.