Despite the urgency to fill the gap, firms in one survey were grappling with first-party data strategies and siloed customer data.

In a recent global survey of 196 Customer Experience (CX) and marketing experts based in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa on their key drivers for customer Identity Management, over 60% of respondents suffered from incomplete customer profiles that hampered customer engagement tactics, and 24% of respondents had data that was fragmented and siloed by channel or business function.

In the area of identity management practices, although cookie-based customer engagement is under question, brands may still be unprepared to address their own identity data infrastructure weaknesses.  

Given the imminent shift away from cookie technologies, customer identity data optimization is expected to play a greater role in CX. According to the survey findings, brands should look at managing their data collection strategies, investment strategies, and deploying improvement in their identity management practices to reach, engage, and retain customers moving forward.

Other findings

In addition to the above data, the survey found:

  • Over 40% of respondents were in the early stages of rolling out first-party data capture strategies, indicating a shift in identity data management.
  • A majority of respondents did not currently enrich their first-party data with third-party data and were unable to manage marketing programs without depending on third-party platforms. This indicated that despite respondents potentially having a more complete view of customers, a managing and optimizing growth through identity management was a challenge to overcome.
  • 61% of respondents planned to alter their engagement strategies, considering imminent cookie deprecation.
  • In selecting a solution provider and identity resolution partner to assist in managing customer identity data more effectively, accuracy (77%) and compliance (68%) emerged as the most desired traits, beating cost (2%).  

According to Patrick Sim, Senior VP (APAC and MEA), Epsilon, which commissioned the survey: “Campaigns run on third-party platforms rarely provide customer intelligence to companies, and this lack of intelligence in the system leads to a vicious cycle of continued dependency on the platforms. The solution is to invest in owned platforms and software for customer engagement, allowing for relevant, timely and compelling communication. Businesses need to prioritize gaining an understanding of their data footprint and enhancing their data strategies, which must include capturing and leveraging first-party data to drive optimal customer experiences.”

The decay of cookie technology is forcing many brands to alter their strategies to meet changing customer expectations. Moving forward, Sim said, CX practitioners and marketers should conduct frequent assessments of their data management and customer engagement strategies to deliver loyalty-winning customer experiences and boost customer lifetime values.