In this guest piece, Eloise Lloyd (pictured below), principal success manager at Salesforce DMP, explains what marketers need to consider before choosing a data management platform.

Wading through your own data can feel like you’re up the proverbial creek without a paddle, and as many marketers can attest, there is more pressure than ever to make data pay with visible results through a data management platform (DMP). The questions many marketers, media organisations and agencies need to reflect on is what makes a good DMP partner and how can they get the most from their data?

A recent report by Persistence Market Research predicted the DMP market in the Asia Pacific will grow rapidly, registering a 15.6 per cent annual growth rate over the next seven years.

Yet, research studies also indicate many of these systems are falling short of expectations. In a recent AdAge report, for example, fewer than 25 per cent of respondents said they were satisfied with how their DMPs are handling channels.

The divide between the growth of the platform and users’ expectations is testament to the fact that not all DMPs are created equally. I have listed four key considerations for marketers before choosing a DMP.

1. Future proof your business with a next-gen DMP

In the last five years there have been dozens of DMPs hitting the market. However, the only platform which has the ability to connect to a wide range of execution partners including supply and demand-side platforms is a next-gen DMP. Next-gen DMPs should provide declarative modelling, predictive modelling and activation. Declarative data is first-party user data and predictive data is the lookalike modelling or cross device identity management (CDIM). Predictive CDIM can also recognise a user on multiple devices even if they haven’t logged in. This is highly useful when you are trying to analyse ‘people’ data or frequency cap across platforms.

A next-gen DMP should have the ability to store and activate data over a 13-month period if required. For instance, you may have seasonal content or campaigns, such as for rugby league season or Christmas, which you need to store for longer than 90 days so you can activate it the following year.

2. Data currency is only realised if you choose to activate it

There is no point having a DMP if you don’t want to activate your data on-site or via the programmatic landscape. If this is the case, save yourself time and money and invest in an analytics platform.

Activating data is asking what your customers are doing and how you can give them more of what they want. On-site personalisation, site design, ad targeting, ad suppression and retargeting are all good examples of activations that are uniquely enhanced through a DMP.

Activation might be off-site and across the programmatic landscape. For example, an organisation might want to target or suppress their known users on other publisher sites or via external platforms such as DSPs and SSPs. A DMP will provide enormous benefit here.

3. Second-party data is your new best friend

The second-party data marketplace will explode and has exciting potential, with Gartner predicting that by 2019, 75 per cent of analytics solutions will incorporate 10 or more data sources from second-party partners or third-party providers.

Second-party data becomes really powerful when data is shared between companies that have an existing relationship. For example, real estate listings websites have a wealth of information about potential home buyers and car auction sites have potential car buyer data. If the data from both site is shared, you can build rich segments of users who can be targeted for car, house, or other life-stage changes such as insurance or financial planning. The opportunity for creating segments for targeting customers is huge.

Some companies will want to buy second-party data and some will want to trade it. A next-gen DMP connects companies and allows for secure data-trading that prevents your valuable data from being leaked or captured by an unauthorised party.

4. Your DMP provider needs to be a true partner and not a bystander

Every organisation has a unique use case and data set, so it’s important to note that like any tool, data is only as good as the people who use and manage it.

An effective DMP provider should be there to help capture, unify and activate data to orchestrate more relevant and valuable consumer experiences. They should challenge you, show you ways to evolve your activation and evolve your use case.

When choosing a DMP partner, make sure you ask for guidance and support to ensure you get the most out of the platform.