A Hero's Journey - How I integrated a Customer Data Platform (CDP) at ImmoScout24 - From Data Chaos to Transformation in Just 4 Weeks

Embark on a captivating journey through the challenges and triumphs of integrating a powerful CDP at ImmoScout24, starting in 2020. Dedication and persistence were the driving forces behind the remarkable success we achieved in a mere 4 weeks. Let's explore the key elements that paved the way for this lightning-fast transformation.

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Act 1: The Old World - Challenges in Data-Driven Marketing

Once upon a time, companies across the globe were struggling to overcome data silos. Our story is no different.

Digital transformation has left no area untouched, and it has fundamentally changed marketing as well. Data-driven marketing, real-time personalization, and data protection are the new challenges facing marketing decision-makers.

Data has become one of the most valuable resources for companies, but often it's stored in unstructured silos and its use is limited. Different departments use different tools to create user segments, leading to fragmented and inconsistent customer profiles. Breaking up these data silos and using the same user segments is the first step to create real added value for cross-departmental collaboration.

The foreseeable end of third-party cookies and the increasing importance of data protection and data governance (GDPR) make the situation even more complex. Companies are challenged to develop their own technical capabilities and tools to enable future-proof real-time personalization.

Act 2: The Journey Begins - Introduction of a CDP

In our quest to overcome data-driven marketing challenges, we set our sights on Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) as the solution. A CDP serves as the bedrock of a robust data strategy, enabling seamless collection, organization, and activation of customer data from diverse sources for a unified customer experience.

Seeking the right solution takes time, and for me, it meant embarking on an intense six-month research expedition. When dealing with the integration of a new deal, proper use cases, requirements, and vendor selection are crucial steps that cannot be skipped without risking failure. Through this meticulous exploration, the potential of Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) was unveiled. Extensive demo sessions with the top 3 vendors helped validate their positioning and advertised features. If you're seeking trustworthy information about CDPs, I highly recommend the CDP Institute, which offers solid fundamentals and a comprehensive CDP comparison table for orientation on real-CDPs.

Joining the conversation with Procurement and Legal is essential to provide all necessary context and details, securing a proper deal and meeting vital vendor offer deadlines. To safeguard your interests, consider implementing an exit clause if the Proof of Concept (POC) does not meet your goals.

Alignment with main stakeholders early on is critical to drive the POC's success and ensure future capabilities become an integral part of their thinking and planning. To avoid issues later on, stakeholders should work out their own use cases and take ownership from the beginning. Enabling stakeholders to become CDP champions from the outset is vital for the journey, supporting data democratization and bottleneck-free data-driven marketing.

Pitching to C-Level can be enjoyable with good preparation and a clear storyline. When you have the right use cases and engaged stakeholders, it becomes challenging for them to refuse your pitch. Failing to address future challenges and struggling to meet revenue goals and digital transformation can be avoided through embracing a CDP.

Implementing a CDP, however, was no walk in the park. It demanded meticulous preparation, concrete use-case design, and dedicated resources. Collaborating with automation managers, data engineers, and marketing analysts proved essential for a smooth execution. Using Jira as a planning board facilitated meticulous organization and propelled our progress.

In the Proof of Concept (POC) phase, we carefully selected stakeholders from Performance Marketing, MediaSales, and DataScience. Replacing existing solutions like Salesforce Krux DMP and an internal behavioral user database was a no-brainer, ensuring efficiency and reduced maintenance efforts. Having multiple stakeholder groups and use cases ensured resilience and trust in the project's success.

We chose specific use cases for the POC and explored what other companies had done to inspire our own ideas. Regular check-ins, both weekly and monthly, allowed us to share progress, clarify questions, and fine-tune collaboration. Retrospectives were essential to reflect on the POC, gather feedback, and optimize our approach.

Out of the POC retro, we gathered success criteria across five pillars: Vendor-related, Team-related, Output-related, Orga-related, and Feedback from the vendor team. The essential drivers of success were the excellent vendor relationship, the engaged POC team with open communication, outstanding output that pleased stakeholders, superior organization, and positive feedback on my dedication to leading the whole project. At the end of the day, it is the people involved who make it all happen!

The introduction of a CDP brought a new level of collaboration between departments. Real-time data availability through automated processing enabled cross-channel user segmentation and campaign control, resulting in efficiency gains and cost savings.

Finally, it's crucial to celebrate success when embarking on a CDP journey. Properly acknowledge milestones and the completion of the POC, combining it with retrospectives and a well-deserved celebration, as we did with our colleagues, is a perfect way to round off the journey.

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Act 3: The Transformation - Benefits of a CDP

The advantages of implementing a Customer Data Platform (CDP) are abundant. Our journey with the CDP has been nothing short of extraordinary, bringing together a dedicated team and pushing our limits to turn our vision into reality.

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During the Proof of Concept (POC) phase, we quickly reaped low-hanging fruits. Stakeholders gained access to valuable data points previously unavailable, empowering them to create better audiences and drive improved customer communication and revenue. The automation of manual processes freed up valuable time for more strategic work, and the seamless interplay between Paid Marketing and Owned Media resulted in more effective campaigns.

Integration and Processing Power: The CDP's introduction allowed us to seamlessly integrate ten data systems/tools and process billions of real-time events annually. Two robust server-side infrastructures were established, transforming our data management capabilities from the get-go. Breaking down silos and creating a unified customer view across all channels became a reality.

In-house CDP Champions: At least eight passionate CDP champions emerged across the organization, leading positive change in digital marketing, product marketing, content teams, media sales, and data science. These colleagues are instrumental in making data democratization a reality.

Replacing Legacy Systems: The CDP replaced outdated Data Management Platforms (DMPs), like Salesforce Krux, and an internal user database entirely, leading to substantial cost savings and reduced maintenance efforts. The improvement in data quality and user stitching has been truly transformative.

Product Recommendation and Machine Learning: We migrated the product recommendation engine to CDP data, and Tealium Predict, an ML feature for marketers, enabled scaling user segments through user scores on any desired KPI. This resulted in valuable data science resource conservation and opened new avenues for revenue growth and campaign implementation.

Preparing for a Cookie-less Future and GDPR Compliance: The CDP's capabilities allowed us to integrate additional first-party data, such as pseudonymized email addresses, significantly improving user matching rates with GAFA. This puts us ahead in the cookie-less future, ensuring a competitive edge and early adoption of marketing innovations. The CDP's standard APIs also made it effortless to comply with data protection and GDPR requirements.

User Identification and Real-Time Data Availability: The CDP's user identification, real-time data availability, and activation power have been invaluable, allowing us to stay agile in the data-driven marketing landscape. This agility is crucial in delivering exceptional customer experiences and maintaining a competitive edge.

Calculating CDP ROI: The CDP's value is far-reaching. From reduced manpower needs in product management, engineering, analytics, and marketing to increased efficiency and productivity through automated processes and improved data quality—the ROI is evident. Replacing other solutions and revenue gains through CDP utilization contribute to its positive impact. When considering buy versus build approaches, the CDP's immediate usability after integration adds to its ROI advantage.

In conclusion, the CDP has been a game-changer, revolutionizing our marketing strategies, enhancing customer experiences, and setting us up for a future of success and innovation.

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Act 4: The Return - The Company as a Shaper of the Future

With a CDP, companies have the power to actively shape the future. They can maintain agility in the ever-evolving landscape of data-driven marketing and embrace marketing innovations at their early stages.

The journey to introducing a CDP is akin to the hero's journey, leading from humble beginnings to shaping the future. It demands courage, determination, and unwavering perseverance, but the rewards are immeasurable. Companies that successfully embark on this journey not only conquer the challenges of data-driven marketing but also grasp new opportunities and proactively shape their future.

Embracing the CDP approach early on allows companies to gain higher market shares, outmaneuver competitors, and elevate employee satisfaction. Preparing for a cookieless future, bridging data gaps, and fostering future agility demonstrate strong management and expertise, attracting top talent during hiring processes.

Become one of the heroes on this transformative journey and shape the future of your company with a CDP. Be a true shaper of the future!

P.S. :

Today, Immoscout24 stands in an exceptional position to spearhead the cookieless future and enable efficient marketing campaigns.

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Gratitude is extended to all contributors for their invaluable contributions and commitment to this transformative experience, especially my MarTech team from that time and all the CDP champions we worked with. You made this transition possible. You are the real heroes of this story.

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I'm Stephan G?tze - a?MarTech HERO?and I help companies to "Unlock Marketing" providing strategies for Modern Marketing Leaders in the Data-Driven Age.

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