Data is everything. Pushing a new product or launching new services without business intelligence to light the way through the vast data landscape is a recipe for disaster. A data management platform organizes, stores and analyzes raw data in tandem with BI tools to show you the path of least resistance toward success.

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This Guide Includes:

• What is a Data Management Platform?
• Key Features
• Primary Benefits
• Customer Data Platforms vs. Data Management Platforms

What is a Data Management Platform?

Data management collects, organizes and stores customer data from various online, offline and mobile sources to build customer profiles and drive targeted advertising campaigns.

Unstructured customer data from web analytics tools, CRM, point-of-sale software and social media opens the door for powerful customer insights.

Businesses can collect first-party data directly from their customers based on specific actions like clicks, downloads, video uploads and more. For instance, If a user browses the website to check Italian recipes, a data management platform (DMP) stores this information to target specific ads at customer profiles with similar interests.

How Does a Data Management Platform Work?

DMPs make it easier to understand customers at a granular level. Analyzing contextual, behavioral and demographic data improves interest and preference-based customer segmentation.

Most consumers don’t notice DMPs at work while they visit websites and browse products. These systems take in their surfing data and tailor ads based on the digital channels they enter.

Data management platforms target specific customer segments, like travel enthusiasts, with relevant ads. Anyone who visits a travel website or blog with a specific tracking code categorizes themselves as someone with travel-based interests within the DMP.

Most websites contain tracking code that monitors and analyzes visitors as they travel the web. A DMP can even tie someone’s desktop activity to their mobile browsing practices for a complete picture of their preferences.

After accumulating the relevant data, DMPs organize it to build anonymous customer profiles. The platform then cleanses and masks this personal data to protect sensitive information from marketers.

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Key Features

Implementing successful ad campaigns requires several industry-standard data management features:

1. Data Integration

• Ingest first-party online, offline or cross-device data.
• Categorizes information into audience segments for personalized marketing,
• Expand reach, monitor data ingestion and diagnose issues.

2. Audience Building

• Identify the right audience for targeted campaigns and reach profitable audiences.
• Gauge classifications related to specific audiences via audience discovery reports.
• Search for new audiences or expand existing customer base during campaign planning to boost performance.

3. Cross-Device Targeting

• Create customized cross-device marketing campaigns to facilitate consistent marketing across different channels and devices.
• Leverage private ID graphs to expand reach and ensure better cross-device customer targeting.
• Reach prospects across web and social media channels through cross-device extension.

4. Audience Analysis

• Use robust audience analytics reports to access actionable consumer insights.
• Use pre-campaign analytics to gauge audience preferences. Conduct post-campaign analysis to boost targeting accuracy.

Other DMP features include:

• User Profiling: Create robust user profiles based on interests, preferences, behaviors and needs. Curate profiles using machine learning algorithms for automatic analysis.
• Look-alike Modeling: Find new clients with similar interests and preferences for targeted ad campaigns.
• Product Recommendations: Leverage recommendations to provide a personalized brand experience and boost revenue.

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Primary Benefits

With data management platforms you get the following primary benefits:

1. Boost Revenue

Getting the right ads in front of the correct audience gives brand recognition a significant boost, increases conversion rates, strengthens sales and maximizes profits.

A data management platform can determine which audiences and demographics are more profitable than others. Marketers can prioritize their budget for similar audiences with higher conversion chances.

2. Optimized Cross-Device Campaigns

Cross-device targeting involves identifying and delivering ads to specific audiences on different devices. An omnichannel strategy allows marketers to reach users with consistent messaging across devices like desktops, tablets, mobiles and TVs. Design a multi-device experience to target the same audience with personalized advertising campaigns.

Match target audience profiles across screens to reach the right people at the right time on the right channel. Provide a seamless brand experience across different devices with the help of cross-device technology to boost engagement and ROI.

3. Budget Savings

Using data management tools replaces costly ‘spray and pray’ methods to reach the target audience. Build robust audience personas to target and retarget people who visit specific websites and repeatedly purchase.

In essence, marketers have the liberty to choose buyers based on their past purchases and reduce ad waste.

4. Meet Customer Needs

Having a one-to-one relationship with customers is beneficial for business. Data helps bridge the gap between buyers and vendors by providing valuable insights if used correctly. Businesses can learn which products and services customers prefer or how they react to promotions and marketing campaigns.

CDP vs DMP

A customer data platform (CDP) is a software solution that aggregates and organizes customer data across different touchpoints to create a coherent view of each customer. It collects customer information in the form of behavioral, transactional and demographic data.

The key differences between CDP and DMP are as follows:

1. A CDP caters to all types of marketing, whereas a DMP influences the advertising industry to target ads to potential customers.
2. CDPs collect first-party data (directly from consumers), while DMPs collect third-party data (through cookies).
3. CDPs associate customers with specific identifiers like Customer ID. DMPs identify customers with anonymous identifiers.
4. CDPs retain data over a longer time to build robust customer profiles and foster relationships. DMPs retain data for shorter periods to target specific audiences and build look-alike profiles.

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Conclusion

The main objective of a data management platform is to help businesses understand customer demographics, including what motivates them to make purchases, and create campaigns that align with target segments.

Is there anything you think we should add to this data management platform guide? Let us know in the comments below.