Identity resolution is a technique used to collect data points of the individuals to build a cohesive, omnichannel view of the customers as he or she interacts across channels and devices. This is important for compliance with new consumer privacy laws such as the European Union’s General Data Regulation (GDPR).
According to the Cisco Annual Report by 2023 there will be an increase in the number of devices connected to the IP networks to three times the global population, with 3.6 networks per capita and consumers share of connected devices expanding to 75% to the entire market. The survey also reveals that three quarters of the customers expect the brand to know what they really want and meet their demands before they even do. Cross channel audience identification and matching is the marketer’s highest priority. Regardless of the channel, a key like IP address, email, etc. can be attributed to the individual every time when they interact with the brand. Forrester found that 71% of brand marketers feel it very challenging to maintain accuracy in customer ID and how much they are reachable online.
Identity resolution platform with the help of first, second, and third data sources create and maintain a database of persistent customers profile. According to Winterberry Group Forecast, U.S marketers will spend $2.6 billion on identity resolution programs by 2020 and they expect a strong return on investment.
The two main important benefits of identity resolution are better data controls and a complete customer profile. But the challenge comes when the customer do research in something on one device, call on another mobile, etc. thus leading to scattered data. Also, tools like third party cookies play a major role in this by ensuring customer privacy. Consumers are also mounting their own personal disinformation campaigns by introducing data quality errors intentionally, to undermine an organization’s data linkage effort.
Thus, marketers have to build effective identity programs. The research published by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) Data Centre of Excellence and Winterberry Group says that the biggest challenge faced by marketers are government regulations. All the identity resolution platform marketers are in compliance with GDPR and have clear policies on how customer data is used.
