Data management platforms have risen to become an essential part of successful business operations. Thanks to the numerous global technology-enabled platforms, there’s so much data to collect and leverage in making business decisions.
However, without a central management system, working with data available on different platforms is a hassle. Data management platforms (DMP) solve this problem of data decentralization and fragmentation.
DMP makes it possible for businesses to look forward to more user data being created by the second, without worrying about the management. First, however, marketers must understand the fundamentals of data management platforms; hence, this article.
WHAT ARE DATA MANAGEMENT PLATFORMS?
Data management platforms are infrastructures with the primary purpose of collating, organizing, and activating data from different sources. For example, the audience data collected in DMPs range from first, second to the third party. Also, DMPs collect data from various sources; online, offline, mobile, etc.
From the different data sources, insights pour in daily. Unfortunately, the raw data from these sources are unusable. Data management platforms sort through the big data, converting it to a usable form and making it easier for marketers to understand.
Thanks to the insights and understanding that DMPs provide, it becomes easier to know who the customers are and what they need. As a software tool, it’s effortless to scale Data management platforms to cater to your increasing customer base. The scalability informs what data brokers are.
HOW DO DMPS WORK?
Beyond the collection and storage of data, DMPs also send data for use in Data signal processing (DSP), Supply-side platform (SSP), and other ad exchanges. The data DMPs provide to these other platforms are used in content customization, targeted advertising, personalization, etc.
Due to how the data is used, the DMPs collection process goes beyond surface insights. The platform collects data that aids audience segmentation. Owing to this usage, many organizations make the mistake of making DMPs their only data solution. However, DMPs work better being a part of a more comprehensive data ecosystem.
Data Collection
DMP has its strength in audience segmentation since the data it collects are anonymous. The data collection process of data management platforms serves as the bedrock of the system’s influence in data activation.
DMPs collect four types of data;
- Web and app data
- First-party data systems
- Data generated during the marketing and advertising campaigns
- Second and third-party data systems
The data collection process of DMPs varies with companies – it depends on what a particular company decides to use. However, there are three primary ways a company’s
DMP can collect data:
- JavaScript Tags
- Server-to-server integration
- Application programming interface (API).
Data Normalization
While the data transport process varies by company, most DMPs enrich the data stored in them. Data enrichment is a part of the normalization process of DMPS after data collection.
Data normalization in DMPs go as thus:
- Collection of IDs from website cookies
- Removing irrelevant and redundant data
- Moving data from the source’s schema to the DMP’s schema
- Data enrichment.
Profile Development
The profile building process of data collection functions to transform the insights into profiles and events. Building these profiles is vital to audience segmentation.
The profile building stage also links data sets to identifiers. For instance, linking an email address of the CRM system to the one in the marketing-automation platform. The data linking process eliminates redundant and duplicate data in a company’s database.
If duplicate data remains, there’s the risk of using inefficient data and insights in decision-making. Summarily, duplicate data undermines data activation.
IMPORTANCE OF DATA MANAGEMENT PLATFORMS IN B2B BUSINESS
Every business looks to make data-powered decisions. Decisions powered by data and not wit have proven to be effective in helping business reach their goals. Hence, as a B2B business, here are several reasons to pay attention to your Data Management Platform:
Data Streamlining
Years back, it was almost impossible to manage data effectively. However, with DMPs, data doesn’t need to be scattered across different places. Instead, DMPs bring data from various sources into a central hub, where it’s easier to manage, enrich, and leverage.
Reduction in Marketing Expense
As much as marketing is vital to businesses, cutting expenses while generating the desired result is best. DMPs make this possible. Thanks to the audience segmentation of DMPs, marketers don’t need to waste resources on clients with lesser potential.
Identification of Clients
Knowing which client is most likely to pay for a service or product is a game-changer in B2B marketing. Identification of potential customers helps marketers double down, hence, increasing revenue. In addition, DMPs make life easier for marketers as they get to focus better.
CONCLUSION
DMPs are vital to companies looking to scale. While marketers won’t wholly rely on Data Management Platforms for decision-making, the infrastructure makes analysis quicker.
