Modern marketing teams direct their efforts to achieve goals like high engagement, high conversion rates, and high return on investment. Identity resolution is the technique that plays a vital role in attaining those goals. This technique is getting more and more attractive because it enables brands to get a 360-degree view of their audience and become more successful in their marketing efforts.
AND an identity graph is something that lies at the heart of the identity resolution. Let’s see in detail what an identity graph is.
What is an identity graph?
An identity graph refers to the database that coheres all the data stored in different channels where you gather consumer data and tie it to one, unified consumer profile.
In simplest terms, an identity graph is a tech that ties together all the information collected from CRM, email marketing, ad campaigns, social media platforms, and so on, to create a single view of a consumer. That means this technique enables brands to get a 360-degree view of a consumer. For example, some identity graphs may enrich first-party data with second or third-party data to ensure tighter segmentation and better lookalike audiences. In short, the better picture of a customer depends on how many touchpoints you collect.
The importance of an identity graph
Let’s consider a very important fact that the average consumer in the modern world uses four devices per day and astonishingly has more than 20 digital identities.
Now, is it possible for your normal analytics tool to differentiate between new and returning consumers? No, it isn’t possible. Let’s see how. For example, you see an unlikely high percentage of new visitors when you look at “new v returning” analytics. So, what is happening here? It is because visitors are using more than 1 device or browser to visit your website and your simple analytics tool is counting each visit as a unique visit.
So, a consumer can visit your website from different browsers, different devices, and at different times. For example, a consumer may visit your website from a smartphone in the morning. The same consumer may visit again in the evening but using a desktop. These are important interactions but it is important for you to pin all those interactions to one user. If you cannot do so, you cannot achieve a people-based marketing experience. Here comes an identity graph in the mix of things.
How does an identity graph work?
An identity graph’s working mechanism consists of the following steps.
1. Online data – the technique captures and combines your consumer’s online data from online sources such as websites and applications to store identifiers.
2. Offline data – it also gathers data from offline sources such as your CRM to add more identifiers to online identifiers.
3. Profile creation – step 3 involves the creation of the profile by connecting all the data to universal IDs provided by the solution provider.
4. Stay updated – the technology also keeps profiles updated by continuous searching and matching.
How can brands use identity graphs?
Now you fully understand what an identity graph is and how it works. But, the next question is how you can use it? So, be patient and don’t rush because an identity graph offers various remarkable uses.
- Unified user experience – as you already know, an identity graph enables brands to get a complete view of a consumer which is the key when offering consumers a unified user experience.
- Provide personalized customer service – a full picture of a consumer also enables brands to ensure personalized customer service.
- Identify channel roles – you can better allocate your marketing budget when you can identify how each channel contributes to converting the consumer.
- Target customers where they’re at – you can send consumers targeted content and promotions wherever they are in the sales cycle when you know how your customers interact with your promotions and campaigns.
An identity graph is a very powerful technology. For instance, some identity graph vendors even give you a unique identifier for a person that can be used to identify that person across any channel. LiveRamp’s Identity Link or the Trade Desk’s Unified ID are among examples of unique identifiers.
In short, identity graphs offer tighter segmentation, better lookalike audiences, better stitching of disparate digital and terrestrial data points, a unified customer profile, and a better understanding of your audiences.
