Breaking Down Data Silos: Achieving a Single Customer View with JetStream

Nov 27, 2024 | Data Cleansing, GDPR, JetStream, SCV

Organisational constraints such as siloed data and technology continue to hinder senior marketers.

This is according to a recent report by Merkle (part of Dentsu’s annual CMO Navigator Report), which found that two-thirds of CMOs admit their companies still struggle with orchestration across marketing, media, and customer experience. This challenge persists despite the vast opportunities presented by new technologies like artificial intelligence.

The report, which surveyed over 1,900 CMOs across 13 countries, highlights a critical issue: while CMOs are eager to leverage new digital capabilities and emerging customer behaviours, they often feel unsteady about their organisation’s digital maturity. Instead of overhauling their tech stacks, many CMOs are focusing on extracting more value from existing capabilities and making highly targeted investments in technology, partners, and growth strategies.

“More than half of the CMOs are looking to new strategies to navigate forward, with a growing trend of prioritising customer experience (CX)”

Only a quarter of CMOs are heavily investing in digital transformation efforts, indicating a significant need for technologies that maximise data utilisation. More than half of the CMOs are looking to new strategies to navigate forward, with a growing trend of prioritising customer experience (CX). As they transform existing processes and data, CMOs remain optimistic about the future, with an overwhelming majority expecting marketing budget increases to support further AI adoption and more impactful customer experiences.

This is where JetStream, a revolutionary solution from The Ark, comes into play. JetStream is a cloud-based data matching platform designed to break down these silos and enhance customer experience by creating a Single Customer View (SCV).

Here’s how JetStream addresses the key challenges faced by CMOs:

Single Customer View

JetStream standardises and anonymises different customer data sets within the same organisation’s ecosystem. By consolidating disparate data sources into a unified view, JetStream ensures that all customer interactions and data points are accurately matched and integrated. This comprehensive view allows CMOs to understand their customers better and tailor their marketing strategies accordingly.

GDPR Compliance

JetStream operates within a ‘Data Clean Rooms’ environment, where sensitive data derived from unique identifiers, such as emails and names, can be leveraged while preserving privacy. This allows customer data to be matched without exposing any personally identifiable information (PII), ensuring compliance with GDPR and other data protection regulations. This secure approach builds customer trust and maintains data integrity.

Highly Accurate Data Matching

JetStream simplifies the complexities of matching customer names and addresses to third-party data sets. It deals with poorly formatted data and varying levels of data accuracy and completeness, providing a consistent and highly accurate match every time. This ensures that CMOs can trust the data they are working with, leading to more effective marketing strategies and customer interactions.

Proactive Alerts

JetStream provides near real-time alerts as changes occur within your customer data. This proactive approach allows CMOs to act fast and anticipate customer needs, enhancing the overall customer experience and enabling more timely and relevant marketing efforts.

Super-Fast Processing

With JetStream, there’s no need for monthly batch processing. The platform offers near real-time processing and matching, eliminating the need to export and transfer customer data every month. This speed and efficiency enable CMOs to stay agile and responsive in a rapidly changing digital landscape.

By leveraging JetStream, organisations can overcome the barriers of siloed data and technology, enabling a more cohesive and effective customer experience strategy. As CMOs continue to navigate the complexities of digital transformation, tools like JetStream provide the necessary insights and capabilities to drive meaningful engagement and growth.

by Steve Clarke – Commercial Director at The Ark

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The Power of Identity Resolution

Oct 29, 2024 | Data Cleansing, GDPR

The Power of Identity Resolution: Ensuring Accurate Customer Data Matching

In the day in age where organisations are striving to be as data-driven as possible, businesses are constantly seeking ways to better understand and engage with their customers. One of the most effective tools in achieving this is identity resolution. This process not only helps in creating accurate customer profiles but also enhances marketing strategies, customer experiences, and regulatory compliance. Let’s dive into why identity resolution is crucial and how it works.

What is Identity Resolution?

Identity resolution is the process of creating a unified and accurate customer profile by linking data from various touchpoints and systems. This involves integrating information from emails, social media, offline interactions, and more to form a comprehensive view of each customer.

Why is Identity Resolution Important?

Accurate Customer Profiles

360-Degree View: Identity resolution helps businesses create a 360-degree view of their customers. By integrating data from multiple sources, companies can gain a holistic understanding of customer behaviours and preferences.
Personalisation: With accurate profiles, businesses can tailor their marketing strategies to individual customers, leading to improved engagement and satisfaction.

Improved Marketing Strategies

Targeting and Segmentation: Identity resolution allows for better audience segmentation and more precise targeting. This means marketing campaigns can be more effective and yield higher returns.
Cross-Channel Consistency: Maintaining a consistent message across various channels is crucial. Identity resolution ensures that customers receive a seamless and coherent experience, regardless of the platform.

Enhanced Customer Experience

Seamless Interactions: Customers expect a seamless experience across different touchpoints. Identity resolution ensures that interactions are smooth and consistent, enhancing the overall customer journey.
Predictive Analytics: By leveraging accurate customer data, businesses can use predictive analytics to anticipate customer needs and behaviours, further improving the customer experience.

Regulatory Compliance and Security

Data Privacy: With increasing data protection regulations, relying on first-party data through identity resolution helps ensure compliance and protects customer privacy.
Security Measures: A centralised and accurate customer data system enhances security, reducing the risk of data breaches and ensuring that customer information is safeguarded.

How Does Identity Resolution Work?

Deterministic vs. Probabilistic Matching

Deterministic Matching: This method uses exact data points, such as email addresses or phone numbers, to link customer data. It is highly accurate but requires precise and consistent information, which is often not available.
Probabilistic Matching: This approach uses statistical algorithms to link data based on probabilities. It can connect data points even when exact matches are not available, which is more often the case. A good algorithm will recognise different ways the same name or address can be presented enabling matches to be established, even when there are significant differences in the input data for the same individual.

Identity Resolution and Matching within Data Cleanrooms: A New Era of Privacy and Precision

In today’s data-driven world, businesses are constantly seeking ways to leverage customer data to enhance their marketing strategies and improve customer experiences. However, with increasing concerns about privacy and data security, traditional methods of data sharing and analysis are becoming less viable. This is where data cleanrooms come into play.

What are Data Cleanrooms?

Data cleanrooms are secure environments where data can be matched and analysed without exposing the underlying raw PII. These environments ensure that sensitive information remains protected while still allowing for secure matching. Data cleanrooms use advanced encryption and privacy-preserving technologies to maintain data confidentiality.

Benefits of Identity Matching within Data Cleanrooms

Enhanced Privacy: By anonymising data and using secure environments, data cleanrooms ensure that privacy is maintained throughout the analysis process.

Better and More Precise Matching: Many organisations face challenges when matching their customer data to other datasets (whether that be other customer data or external third-party sources). Inconsistently formatted data, missing data and other data related issues can be overcome through employing identity matching solutions, enabling an organisation to match their customer data with confidence, leading to better data-driven outcomes.

Compliance: Data cleanrooms help businesses comply with data protection regulations like GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 by ensuring that data minimisation is built into their data matching solutions and sensitive information is handled securely.

Conclusion

As the digital landscape continues to evolve, the importance of identity resolution will only grow and as privacy concerns continue to increase, data cleanrooms and identity matching offer a robust solution for businesses looking to leverage customer data responsibly.

By combining advanced privacy-preserving technologies with sophisticated matching algorithms (such as our own JetStream solution), businesses can ensure accurate customer data matching, leading to better marketing strategies, enhanced customer experiences, and robust regulatory compliance, while maintaining the highest standards of data security.

By Martin Jaggard – Director at The Ark

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The Importance of Maintaining Customer Data: A Proactive Approach to Deceased and Gone Away Suppression

Sep 3, 2024 | Data Cleansing, Deceased Identification, Goneaway Identification

In today’s data-driven world, maintaining accurate and up-to-date customer data is crucial for any organisation. Not only does it enhance operational efficiency, but it also fosters trust and loyalty among customers. One critical aspect of data maintenance is the suppression of deceased and gone away records. This blog explores the importance of maintaining customer data, the benefits of deceased and gone away suppression, and how organisations can leverage in-situ data cleansing within their own cloud platforms.

Why Maintaining Customer Data Matters

Identity resolution is not just a feature; it’s a necessity for the success of data cleanrooms. It allows companies to:

1) Enhanced Customer Experience: Accurate data ensures that communications are relevant and timely, enhancing the overall customer experience. Misaddressed communications can lead to frustration and a negative perception of the brand.

2) Regulatory Compliance: Many industries are subject to strict data protection regulations. Maintaining accurate data helps organisations comply with laws such as GDPR, which mandate the proper handling of personal information.

3) Cost Efficiency: Clean data reduces the costs associated with undeliverable mail, incorrect billing, and wasted marketing efforts. It also minimizes the resources needed to manage and rectify data errors.

4) Improved Decision Making: Reliable data is the foundation of effective decision-making. It enables organisations to analyse trends, forecast demand, and tailor their strategies to meet customer needs.

The Role of Deceased and Gone Away Suppression

1) Respect and Sensitivity: Sending communications to deceased individuals can be distressing for their families. Suppressing these records demonstrates respect and sensitivity, preserving the organisation’s reputation.

2) Data Accuracy: Removing outdated records ensures that the database reflects the current customer base, leading to more accurate analytics and insights.

3) Fraud Prevention: Deceased records can be exploited for fraudulent activities. Suppressing these records helps mitigate the risk of identity theft and fraud.

4) Resource Optimisation: By eliminating gone away records, organisations can focus their resources on engaging with active customers, improving the efficiency of marketing and customer service efforts.

Benefits of In-Situ Data Cleansing in the Cloud

In-situ data cleansing refers to the process of cleaning and maintaining data within the organisation’s own cloud platform. This approach offers several advantages:

1) Real-Time Updates: In-situ cleansing allows for real-time updates, ensuring that the data is always current and accurate. This is particularly important for dynamic customer databases.

2) Enhanced Security: Keeping data within the organisation’s cloud platform reduces the risk of data breaches and unauthorised access. It ensures that sensitive information is handled in compliance with security protocols.

3) Cost Savings: In-situ cleansing eliminates the need for third-party data cleansing services, reducing costs associated with data transfer and external processing.

4) Customisation: Organisations can tailor the cleansing process to their specific needs, incorporating custom rules and algorithms that align with their business objectives.

5) Scalability: Cloud platforms offer scalable solutions that can grow with the organisation. In-situ cleansing ensures that data management processes can adapt to increasing volumes of data without compromising performance.

Proactive Data Management: A Strategic Imperative

Proactive data management is not just about maintaining accuracy; it’s about anticipating and addressing potential issues before they arise. By implementing in-situ data cleansing and deceased and gone away suppression, organisations can:

Build Trust: Demonstrating a commitment to data accuracy and customer respect fosters trust and loyalty.
Enhance Efficiency: Streamlined data processes lead to more efficient operations and better resource allocation.
Drive Growth: Accurate data supports informed decision-making, enabling organisations to identify opportunities and drive growth.

And finally…

The Ark are well placed to help organisations address the problem of deceased and gone away suppression with our National Deceased Register and Re-mover Gone Away suppression files. These datasets can also be delivered proactively through our JetStream data cleanroom solution, providing a cloud-based in-situ solution for organisations looking to maintain their customer data.

Take a look at JetStream in our video:

The takeaway? Maintaining customer data is a strategic imperative for modern organisations. By proactively managing data through in-situ cleansing and deceased and gone away suppression, businesses can enhance customer experience, ensure compliance, and optimise resources. Embracing these practices within their own cloud platforms positions organisations for long-term success in an increasingly data-centric world.

– Martin Jaggard – Director at The Ark

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Hello… is anyone at home?

Nov 16, 2016 | Data Cleansing, Goneaway Identification, Re-mover

If you knock at the front door of one of your customers you will know when they answer whether they are the person you are trying to reach, but how do you ascertain whether your direct mail communications are reaching the right person when you can’t visit each and every home you are contacting?

Thousands of people move home (in some cases leaving the country altogether) every year and this figure is increasing, but the lowest priority these people have is updating their contact details with every company they have ever done business with; updating address details with banks, credit card companies, utility suppliers, mobile phone providers, loyalty cards, pension providers, solicitors etc. can be a mammoth task alongside the general hassle of moving house. Perceived as an unimportant activity for a mover, it is unsurprising that customers fail to inform companies about a change of address.

The incoming tenant often has to deal with months of unwanted post addressed to people that have long since moved away, and many people throw this away instead of returning it to the original sender. Although a lot of direct mail is returned each year as a result of house moves and people wishing to unsubscribe from future mailings, there is a huge amount of direct mail that disappears into landfill, never reaching the intended recipient nor making its way back to the sender for removal. Further to this, many companies never action these returns, or take so long doing so that sending continues, despite having the information that some people have moved or do not wish to receive any further communications. This inaction on the part of the originating company can lead to negative perceptions of the business and its practices.

Research by The Software Bureau indicates that each piece of returned mail costs the originating company £4, yet many companies continue to print and send mail to these obsolete addresses, quickly amassing a huge bill that could be avoided through undertaking regular database cleansing. Estimates put a figure of 40% of returned mail being due to unsubscription requests, and 60% being due to goneaways. Printing and sending communications to addresses that are no longer related to a genuine customer is a waste of money and resources; funds and time that could be more efficiently assigned to attaining a cleaner and more reliable database.

One reason businesses do not remove goneaways from their databases is to avoid incurring the associated costs, but this is a short-sighted view as the costs of continuing to mail people who are not there will far outweigh that of keeping the database clean. Using a cleansing file like Re-mover means your database will be up to date to within one month of all house moves at any given time – that is much quicker than relying on new tenants to return the odd bit of unwanted post. If a direct mail campaign involves sending several iterations or reminders about a service, there is every chance that time and money has been invested in contacting a customer who has moved. If the new tenant then eventually returns all the unwanted mail you could be looking at a cost of £40 per record over a period of a few months – this adds up fast and cuts into the available marketing budget as well as skewing ROI figures.

Companies that regularly use Re-mover and other suppression files will see a much better return on investment from their campaigns, a lower overall campaign cost (due to reduced print and postage costs) and a much better reputation for not sending unwanted or irrelevant postal communications.