Before you start adding to your tech stack or sign the next purchase order, get the answers to the following questions:
- Clearly define the use cases (goals) up front. What am I trying to truly solve? (Hint: 360-degree customer view, activation and personalization are table stakes and not business goals.) Is it growing repeat business or finding new customers? Expanding knowledge throughout my entire business? Filling shopping carts based on precise knowledge of my customer, at every stage of their journey? Maybe all of the above?
- Ensure my marketing, customer engagement and data teams are brought in early. What are their goals? What are the goals of my CFO and CEO?
- Is my CDP and tech partner giving me a clear path to return on investment?
- Do they have a strong POV on how to activate my data against marketing use cases and a clear POV on how to evolve my use cases?
- Do they have a clear picture of my specific industry, unique needs and the customers we serve?
- How is raw data handled? Does it need IT involvement or can it be resolved without their involvement? Can the system ingest data from a variety of sources – my ERP, weblogs, app data, martech automation, kiosks and customer loyalty programs?
- Who else do I need on my team? Beyond the CDP or data warehouse, I need to go beyond its capabilities to reach the customer at every stage and touchpoint of the journey. A first-party data consultant (hint Leverage Lab) can help me plan the strategy and build a robust customer journey map.
Ok, so we gave you 14 questions. This is just a starter list. Reach out if you’d like to discuss other questions you need to be considering.
