CDM as an organizational practice necessitates human and technological expenditures, as well as reorientation and prioritization of data processes. Here are the top 5 best practices for customer data management in 2022 and beyond to create an efficient customer data management solution with limited opportunities for errors:

1. Design with Data Governance in mind:

Data governance is essential in the data-driven economy, from ensuring that consent is integrated into all data harvesting activities and honored in all marketing programs to ensure that data is safe and secure. When delivering any brand experience, especially targeted communication and marketing, customers’ privacy and preferences must be considered. To assure privacy, accountability, and safety at every point of the interaction, data governance, and data security must be included in the process from the data collecting stage forward.

Tips that all Brand Managers should understand about their data management.

• Over-collecting Data: There’s no better way to become overwhelmed by your data collection and have problems extracting crucial insights than to merely collect data for the sake of gathering information, like a hoarder with an apartment full of old newspapers. There truly is too much of a good thing where data is concerned. Know why you’re acquiring data in the first place: what questions you’re attempting to answer and what issues you’re trying to address. Concentrate your gathering efforts in regions where you can make a real difference. Avoid the temptation to collect data “just in case” you’ll need it in the future, without any specific objectives in mind.
• There are no clear standards for data submission, tagging, or other classification, which might make future access and activation more difficult. Consider the following scenario:

·        Using lengthy file names that are descriptive and understandable by humans.

·        Creating a standard for all tags.

·        Choose a few file types and stick to them.

·        Keeping track of all data changes to compare timestamps

The more you standardize data input at the collecting stage, the better CDM results you’ll get in the future. Trying to filter through terabytes of jumbled data is a challenge that even the most advanced CDM technology will struggle to solve.

2. Customer-Centricity: 

Customer data management’s primary goal is to improve customer experiences. For this, the strategy should be developed from the outside in, that is, from the perspective of the consumer and following their purchasing path, rather than the other way around, that is, by using current marketing channels and technologies for the convenience of the marketer.

3. Invest in Customer Journey Mapping: 

A customer journey map represents every interaction a customer has with your business. Although it is not intended to be an exact portrayal, it provides marketers with critical insights into how customers interact with the brand at each contact point, allowing them to provide the most appropriate customer experience possible. Customer journeys, on the other hand, are nuanced and one-of-a-kind. No two purchasers take the same path while making a purchase. It’s critical to pay attention to consumer behavior to spot drop-off spots along the trip that signal potential problems. Using technology to provide a visual depiction of client journeys across many touchpoints can assist in the development of new ideas, triggers, and interactions to improve the customer experience.

4. Create integrations to activate data throughout the journey: 

Just because you have unified customer data in one place doesn’t mean you can use it to launch cross-channel marketing. Customer-centric marketing necessitates the dismantling of silos, both data and experience silos. Platforms such as CDPs, which provide a single, unified picture of the customer to all units inside the business, address data silos. Experience silos are broken down by synchronizing marketing activities across channels so that customers get a consistent – rather than fragmented – experience. All of the marketing technology platforms that will be used to activate the data and run the campaigns must be integrated so that they can all access the same data source to provide those seamless experiences.

5. Invest in Cutting-Edge Technology: 

Chris Jones, SVP Product, Amperity, anticipated a move from DIY data management to an emphasis on insights and actions in an article on MTA comprising 20 expert industry thoughts on the relevance and future of CDM. “Three years ago, most businesses were investing a significant amount of internal resources in customer data management — creating their own Customer 360 data capabilities from the ground up, in-house,” he added. In 2019, savvy businesses will turn their attention to analytics, insights, and activation to improve customer experiences, relying on trustworthy providers to manage their customer data.” Having the proper customer data management cloud infrastructure is critical to winning with customer data, whether you’re doing it in-house or finding the right technology partners to assist you to execute your CDM strategy. The correct platform(s) can help you manage and access data more effectively, reduce silos, and get real-time insights.