What being a shop assistant taught me about building audiences on a CDP

In both retail and online environments, building a loyal audience requires more than great products or services—it requires genuine empathy for the customer journey. One of the most effective strategies I’ve discovered is to approach business decisions by behaving like a customer myself. This mindset allows me to understand their needs, pain points, and desires in a way that traditional analysis might overlook.?

Here’s what I’ve learned from embracing this customer-first approach and how it has helped me grow audiences across various channels.?

Why Thinking Like a Customer Works

Building a connection with your audience begins with truly understanding their experiences. Customers don’t just buy products; they seek solutions, convenience, and emotional resonance. By stepping into their shoes, you can:?

• Identify friction points in their journey.?

• Uncover opportunities to make the journey smoother.?

• Foster trust and authenticity by addressing their real concerns.?

Practical Ways to Think Like a Customer?

Walk the Journey Yourself:

Test your own processes and platforms as if you were a new customer. From navigating your website to visiting your retail store, experiencing these moments first-hand reveals what works and what doesn’t.?

I’ve applied this approach multiple times in my career, particularly during my time at Rank Group. Working in a fast-paced team that continuously tested and refined audiences gave me the opportunity to hone these techniques. Typically, I’d be given a brief or hypothesis supported by reasoning—often derived from Google or Adobe Analytics reports. However, these insights weren’t always grounded in real customer experiences.

To bridge this gap, I would create lookalike audiences in tools like Google or Adobe Analytics and isolate specific visitor journeys. Then, I’d go through every step a customer took to enter an audience, often replicating the journey myself to see exactly what the customer saw. This hands-on approach allowed me to truly understand the customer’s perspective.

Sometimes, I even visited physical retail outlets to observe how digital touchpoints integrated with the in-store experience. I’d evaluate whether the journey was convenient, easy to use, and free from unnecessary restrictions. Interestingly, I discovered that limitations at retail locations—such as shared digital touchpoints—could skew analytics data when viewed under a single analytics account. By combining these observations with data insights, I gained a holistic understanding of customer behavior and made more informed decisions.?

Engage in Active Listening: ?

Spend time in customer service roles or review direct feedback. Hearing customer concerns and compliments in their own words provides invaluable insight into their expectations and frustrations. In one of my roles, I had unique access to online chat logs and the opportunity to listen to customer calls. These experiences provided a window into what customers were encountering on the website, allowing me to see issues from their perspective. This deeper understanding helped me reshape how audiences were built and optimized.?

Analyse Buying Habits: ?

Observe what drives your customers to purchase. Are they motivated by quality, price, convenience, or something else? Tailor your offerings to align with these drivers.

I’ve been fortunate to work across a variety of industries, even as a face-to-face salesperson on Tottenham Court Road in London, selling IT equipment, and as someone selling photos in nightclubs which required whole different type of mindset.

These roles taught me a lot about reading people’s body language and developing natural instincts for understanding customer needs. While I wouldn’t claim to have been the best salesperson, I learned the importance of setting the scene. Selling is rarely successful on the first try—you need to sell yourself and the solution you’re offering before anything else.?For example, when selling laptops, my first step was to understand why the customer was looking for one. Was it a gift? Was it for graphic design? Gaming? Each use case required a different explanation of the technology, such as the importance of more RAM or a specific graphics card. Sometimes I’d provide so much helpful information that customers would shop elsewhere after learning what they needed—but other times, they’d come back because they trusted my knowledge.

This same principle applies in a Customer Data Platform (CDP) context. Going straight for the hard sell often doesn’t work. Instead, we need to uncover customer needs gradually, which can be pieced together from various data points in their journey.?By analyzing behaviors like where a customer came from (e.g., a specific ad), what they’re browsing, the pages they spend the most time on, or if they’re interacting in forums or reading particular articles, we can build a clearer picture of their intent—even before identifying them. As they grow more comfortable on the site, we can prompt them for additional information through well-timed questions during their journey. This approach creates richer datasets, leading to better audience segmentation and more personalized experiences.?

Test Small Changes: ?

Experiment with adjustments to your customer experience—from simpler checkout processes to personalized recommendations. Small, iterative changes often lead to big improvements.?

One of the great advantages of some Customer Data Platform (CDP) software is how quickly you can test and refine audiences. You can set up small "nudge" scenarios to explore what happens when customers are presented with different content. For instance, you can track which content they interact with and determine whether it’s possible to move them into different or multiple audiences. This level of experimentation enables a dynamic and personalized approach to audience segmentation.?

Investigate other in the same field: ?

Sometimes the best insights come from acting as a customer of your competitors. What do they do well? Where do they fall short? Use these observations to refine your approach.?

Simply buying from a competitor—whether online or in-store—can reveal valuable insights. I’ve learned a lot just by experiencing competitors' customer journeys, from their communications and tone to the consistency of the process. Often, I’ve noticed how some companies cobble together various technologies to create what feels like a single journey. However, the experience can fall apart—for example, when I’m shifted between domains during payment or registration. These moments of inefficiency are opportunities to reflect on how the process feels as a customer. Does the journey inspire trust, or does it feel inconsistent and odd??

With CDP tools, we can quickly test new journeys and messaging to learn what resonates most with customers. These tools enable us to gather feedback, adjust strategies, and create seamless experiences that build trust and satisfaction. ?

The Power of a Customer-Centric Mindset with a CDP?

When businesses put their customers at the heart of everything they do, ?and a Customer Data Platform (CDP) can be the engine driving that transformation. A CDP brings together all the scattered bits of customer data from different places and combines them into a single, clear picture of each customer. With this, businesses can truly understand their customers and create experiences that feel personal, thoughtful, and seamless.?

Here’s what embracing a customer-first mindset with a CDP can lead to:?

• Genuine Personalization: Imagine receiving recommendations or offers that feel like they were made just for you. A CDP makes this possible by helping businesses understand what each customer wants and needs, based on their preferences and actions.?

• Smarter Marketing: Instead of shouting into the void, businesses can use CDP insights to send the right messages to the right people at the right time—saving money and making a bigger impact.?

• Happier, Loyal Customers: When people feel seen and valued, they stick around. A customer-focused approach helps businesses build relationships that last, reducing the risk of customers drifting away.?

• Better Decisions, Faster: With all the data in one place, teams can make confident, data-backed choices that align with what customers truly care about.?

• Smoother Collaboration: A CDP breaks down barriers between teams like marketing, sales, and support, helping everyone work together more effectively to deliver a great customer experience.?

• In simple terms, a CDP helps businesses turn data into deeper connections. By focusing on what matters most to their customers, businesses can create experiences related to the individual customer. And that’s the kind of care that keeps customers coming back for more.?

Closing Thoughts ?

Thinking like a customer isn’t just a tactic—it’s a mindset that fosters lasting connections. By putting yourself in your audience’s shoes, you can identify the nuances that set your business apart and craft experiences that truly resonate.?

What steps do you take to understand your customers better? ? ?

Thank you for taking the time to reading this article.? ?

Let’s connect and share ideas in the comments—I’d love to hear your thoughts!?

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