Beyond Shopping: The Power Of CDP In Elevating Customer Experience For Brand Success

Imagine you’re in a hurry to find the perfect outfit for a weekend party. Time is ticking, and luckily, with just one click on your favorite dress design, you see tons of options on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram stories.

What felt like a "where to buy” dilemma turns into a bunch of choices. It’s like the universe is making your shopping experience better. This ‘universe’ is a Customer Data Platform (CDP) and recommendation engine, smoothly connecting customers with brands through big data collection and suggesting products that match what they like.

But how does a CDP do this?

Vietcetera had a chat with Jessica Ta, the Country Head of Enterprise Solution at Appier, a Taiwan-based Software as a Service (SaaS) company that’s into Artificial Intelligence (AI). With a strong background in Computer Science and advanced knowledge acquired from an MBA and an MSc in Marketing, Jessica gives a well-rounded perspective on Marketing and Technology in the dynamic business world.

So, how does Appier’s CDP help brands reach out to customers? Or, in simpler words, where do these ‘universal signals’ you notice across online channels come from?

How would you explain a CDP to someone unfamiliar with it?

According to the CDP Institute, a Customer Data Platform (CDP) is packaged software that creates a persistent, unified customer database that is accessible to other systems.

Appier’s AI-powered CDP uses artificial intelligence for prediction, analysis, and data visualization. It helps brands smoothly bring together data, quickly turning it into valuable insights, and supports better decision-making.

A customer’s journey involves many touchpoints, from physical stores to online places like websites, apps, SMS, email, Facebook, and more. The CDP captures these interactions, forming what’s called an omnichannel journey.

At every step of a customer’s shopping journey, the CDP collects data from each touchpoint, creating a unified customer profile. This helps brands find potential customers and discover hidden insights, which is crucial for creating personalized marketing strategies.

Who benefits the most from using a CDP?

Appier’s clients come from various sectors, including e-commerce, financial services, insurance, automotive retail, fashion, beauty, etc.

Similar to how shoppers can struggle to find the right store, retail businesses often face challenges in effectively engaging customers. This is where Appier’s CDP becomes incredibly useful, serving as a perfect link between businesses and their target audiences.

Could you give an example of how CDP improves customer journeys and gathers insights?

Imagine you and a brand are like two strangers getting to know each other. How does CDP fit into this scenario? There are four key stages.

1. How does advertising help introduce customers to brands?

When brands are like strangers, they need to expand their reach to find potential customers. In this initial stage, many brands heavily invest in advertising across platforms to reach new customers.

A common challenge here is targeting the wrong audience, like advertising wedding dresses to single people.

Appier uses data from the CDP, along with the analytical and predictive power of AI, to understand the “insights” and characteristics of high-conversion customers. This helps brands precisely target customer segments and send relevant messages.

Moving forward in the customer journey, what happens after a customer is intrigued by a brand’s advertisement?

2. When customers visit your “home,” how do you engage them?

This is where the “recommendation engine” comes in.

Similar to how Netflix suggests your favorite shows right away, brands need to swiftly make the most of customer interest with timely recommendations—something Appier’s AI tools are excellent at doing.

According to McKinsey, 71% of users prefer brands that understand them, enjoying notifications tailored to their preferences. For instance, getting a personalized birthday message on platforms like Zalo is better than a generic greeting.

Every time a customer clicks on a product, it gives the CDP valuable data. Whether you’re checking out a shirt, taking your time, adding it to the cart, or reading reviews, all this info is captured.

More interactions help the AI learn more about us so it can give more accurate product suggestions.

3. If customers are ready to purchase, how do you encourage repeat visits?

From the customer’s perspective, this is when the best offers should be made to confirm their purchase decision. The system uses purchase history data to come up with the most suitable ways to engage.

For example, if you bought matcha from brand A, the next time you use the delivery app, brand A might send you a matcha promotion voucher. You might also be offered membership for extra future discounts.

After a purchase, the system predicts other products you might like and suggests them. This strategy aims to increase how much customers spend.

From a business perspective, CDP now provides insightful and actionable data.

Businesses can get new ideas from CDP data. For example, if 30% of your shop’s views are on silk and pink items, you learn what materials and colors are in demand and can expand your product range accordingly.

4. Now that you’re “together,” how do you maintain a lasting relationship?

Once an order is done, the stranger becomes a “customer.” This is when the CDP starts creating a loyal customer profile, offering personalized deals to encourage second, third, and fourth purchases.

Consider the launch of the iPhone 15. Who should the retailer pay attention to?

The CDP platform looks at purchase history, figuring out potential customers based on behaviors like regularly upgrading iPhones or owning different Apple products. This is how Appier’s CDP helps brands find their ideal “landing spot.”

What is MarTech’s Role in the Future of Marketing?

Operating without MarTech (Marketing Technology) insights is like writing a letter with no recipient in mind.

MarTech enables brands to deeply understand their existing customers: their identities, preferences, favorite channels, and locations. MarTech’s influence ensures that a brand’s business strategy constantly evolves, facilitating a more organic connection between buyers and sellers.

Therefore, it’s not an overstatement to say that MarTech represents an essential evolution and the future for anyone in the retail business sector to consider.

Moreover, 79% of organizations report a significant increase in revenue after implementing personalized strategies for customer engagement, and 91% of consumers are more likely to shop from brands offering relevant promotions or product suggestions, according to Accenture’s findings.

How Will MarTech Address Future Data Privacy Concerns?

In the end, even with CDPs holding vast amounts of data, the priority remains on data security.

Appier consistently commits to complying with data privacy regulations, ensuring transparency in data collection, use, and sharing.

A proper understanding of CDPs reveals that they are designed to streamline both purchasing and selling processes. Data from CDPs provide consumers with personalized experiences while allowing brands to better recognize and understand their potential customers.

Appier is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that uses artificial intelligence to power business decision-making. Founded in 2012 with a vision of democratizing AI, Appier now has 17 offices across APAC, Europe, and the US and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Coupled with Appier’s strong AI-powered prediction and analytics capability, the next-generation AI-powered CDP can seamlessly integrate data from over 50 platforms into one place to create a 360-degree view of each customer, generate real-time insights in the shorten time and maximize marketing ROI.