Home > Blog > Tricks > Understanding the points that affect my Data Lake
Identifying a Customer Journey is a bit like a life size “where is Charlie”. It’s complex. So yes, you already collect consumer data, even a lot. But have you ever hypothesized that there might be some cases that would not be taken into account by your current device?
1/ The advertising impression
Advertisers are more and more to turn to the display. According to the European Programmatic Market Sizing 2016 [1], in Europe, the total market for display advertising investments increased from € 5.7 billion in 2015 to € 8.1 billion in 2016, an increase of 42,7%. The display is increasingly seen as a complementary channel to Search to relay growth. Still excluded from this type of device, French television channels have long advocated for access to “addressed advertising”. While waiting for it, TV budgets are shifting more and more to online. In 2017, according to the report Advertising Expenditure Forecasts [2], Internet advertising investments exceed the amount reserved for television
Display is not only a channel capable of generating qualified traffic, but is increasingly also evoking its ability to influence the purchasing decision via the media exposure.
Also, as fraud in digital advertising is gaining ground, it is essential to go even further in this logic of collecting the post-view and add the impression indicators actually seen by consumers.
2/ Complex mobile paths
The mobile browsing of Internet users is difficult to follow, the environment itself of this device being complex by nature. The consumer can both interact with the brand from an application or a browser. He can open Google Chrome from his mobile to access a web page, continue on the application of a brand, then finally browse the pages of the site (webview) … Anyway, complex as we tell you!
Manage the link between the click on an advertisement and the download of the application, the passage of an app page to a webview within an app or adapt to an IOS environment as well as Android are some examples points to consider for a complete reconciliation of your customer journeys.
To answer these problems, the tracking of mobile paths will generally be done by combining different tracking methods: via webmobile cookie, Device ID (IDFA / Android ID), statistical ID, etc. There will necessarily be a combination that will be adapted. You just have to be able to manage all the scenarios so that you have available all the paths that the consumer could take.
3/ The cross-device reconciliation
The customer journey is complex on mobile (we have seen), and yet it is only one device, among others, allowing the client to interact with the brand. Making the bond between the application and the web is still a good challenge to address.
To reconcile them, the deterministic method, thanks to a reliable data, seems to be the safest solution currently on the market. It consists of using a user identifier as a reconciliation key (client ID, encrypted mail). Specifically, if a consumer identifies himself on the website and the mobile application, it is the same consumer both behind his desktop and his smartphone. The journeys are reconciled, they only form one!
4/ On/Off reconciliation
The reconciliation problems do not stop to the Online. Companies must ensure that the link is well made between the Online and Offline universes.
Indeed, a consumer today tends to contact a brand several times before completing the conversion. Let’s take the example of Guillaume.
This fan of sneakers will be able to interact with his favorite brand via four different channels: display (a banner attracted him), mobile application (to learn about the characteristics of the product related to the advertising), store (to see with his own eyes the spotted pair, there may sometimes be gaps between the visual and reality) and website (to make the purchase from home).
The idea is to take advantage of the online deterministic reconciliation (mentioned above) that allowed the recovery of the client ID (or encrypted mail). When this same ID will be retrieved in store via a registration to the loyalty program or private sales for example, the link will be made!
Thus, you will have an exhaustive vision of the Customer Journey.
From the mobile application to the department store shelf, multiple journeys and above all masses of specificities are to be apprehended. Be vigilant on the 4 points stated. Make sure you do not have holes in the racket. The ball is on your side !
[1] IAB Europe, 2017
[2] Zenith, 2017
