Merkle, part of dentsu and Celebrus, have combined forces to launch CXM Signals. Powered by the Celebrus platform and implemented rapidly by the Merkle team, that platform enables organisations to harvest first-party data, interpret it and improve customer experiences.
With the deprecation of cookies, organisations need to consider how to better understand their customers for every contact. Brands walk a tightrope online where any false step and the customer will leave. 50% of customers will quit a brand after one bad encounter. They must ensure that the customers are presented with a personalised experience.
To achieve that, brands must collate and leverage whatever data is available. Using CXM Signals, organisations can collect data with a clear digital identity. And then present contextual content at the right moment during their customer journey. Ultimately, CXM Signals will help improve paid media targeting, thereby reducing spend and increasing sales.
CXM Signals leverages the digital identity verification and the customer profile capabilities of Celebrus. Merkle will help customers decode consumer behaviour and help deliver timely and relevant experiences to foster better engagement.
Bill Bruno, CEO at Celebrus, said, “Celebrus has made it our mission to improve the relationships between brands and consumers via better data. By leveraging our identity verification, compliant consumer profile management, and machine learning, and combining it with Merkle’s extensive experience in partnering with brands to get value from their technology investments, we can bring a one-of-a-kind solution to our joint customers.”
A case of one plus one equals three
Combining the technologies of the two companies could deliver a powerful solution. While Merkle technologies can help deliver a personalised customer experience for brands. The digital data provided by the Celebrus platform can create an iterative, self improving loop. This loop identifies and records the changing preferences of consumers through their customer journey.
CXM Signals is powered by the Celebrus identity graph. Which, when combined with the customer profile build, can help identify customers in milliseconds. It is then possible to identify new customer segments as consumers evolve.
Using these segmentations and identities, brands can create and deliver tailored interactions in real-time. Capturing further insights to iterate engagement and deliver deeper insights into customer preference.
The data provided can help shape decisions around paid media and support real-time time-decision-making drives relevant, targeted messaging, offers, and promotions.
The combination ensures better investments in paid media. And the right information is presented on the right channel to every consumer. Importantly, brands are able to better walk the tightrope of customer engagement. Presenting the right information at the right time and avoiding the fall that can come from a bad experience. Over time, the right engagement builds trust and customer loyalty as the relationship is built between the brand and customers.
Merkle brings things together
Merkle is able to achieve a rapid time to value with CXM Signals. This is achieved with the assistance of the tagging-free data capture methodology that Celebrus has developed. Brands can deploy the solution within the cloud environment of their choice. Ensuring data protection and data sovereignty are maintained for customer data. The solution also supports the dentsu commitment to delivering solutions and services that are good for business, good for people and good for society. Which drive innovation and experimentation, and create a meaningful difference for clients.
Anne Stagg, Chief Executive Officer UK&I at Merkle, commented, “Everyone in the industry is seeing the impacts of continued data gaps, as well as knock-on effects from the depreciation of the third-party cookie. When we embarked on this journey with Celebrus over a year ago, it was because we recognised the challenges businesses were facing.
“Together, our aim was to build a platform for customers to get more out of their data, so they can truly understand who their customers are. CXM delivers just that. It enters us into a new era of customer experience where organisations can future proof their businesses and take a truly proactive approach to their customers’ needs.”
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
This partnership has been some time in the making and looks likely to hit the ground running. What is slightly unclear is which solutions Merkle will bring to the table when it deploys CXM Signals. Also, where does its Merkury solution fit within this relationship, which offers some similarities to CXM Signals?
What will be key for this relationship is seeing customers adopt CXM Signals and the case studies that will flow from it. Both companies appear to have invested in this partnership. CXM Signals is the result of them working together over the last year. It will be interesting to see what comes next, both from a marketing and technology perspective.
