As marketers prepare for a competitive holiday season, they are turning to identity resolution tools to help mitigate rising ad conversion costs in the post ATT world. With mobile tracking now limited, strong identity resolution is more important than ever. This is especially key for brands looking to maintain consistent and personalized communications with their consumer base.
What is Identity Resolution?
Before we can discuss why it is so crucial in today’s market, we first need to understand what it means.
Identity resolution is the process of integrating identifiers across devices and platforms to create a unified view of each consumer. Brands depend on it to draw a link between all consumer touchpoints, both online and offline.
In this sense, good identity resolution is key to any customer-centered company that wants to develop data-driven marketing strategies.
Why does Identity Resolution Matter Now?
Brands have long aimed for strong identity data, but it has become an urgent need in the past six months. Why? Two major Apple software updates have pushed marketers to completely rethink their strategies. In April 2021, Apple introduced iOS 14.5 and the new policy of App Tracking Transparency (ATT) that allows iPhone users to opt out of app tracking. And in September 2021, iOS 15 and the new Mail Privacy Protection feature launched, limiting marketers’ ability to track email opens.
Both of these iOS updates affect how marketers collect information that is essential for successful personalized ad targeting. With mobile targeting becoming a less reliable strategy, marketers are spending more on customer acquisition. At the same time, the costs of mobile ads continue to rise. In the first six months of 2021, the average cost of conversions surged up to 200% for mobile users. This dramatic increase means that brands need to take the time now to invest in privacy compliant identity resolution tools.
Why is it Important for Brands?
Identity resolution can seem like a daunting process. It requires aggregating multiple forms of consumer data to get an accurate and complete view of the customer. However, building an identity resolution road map and utilizing tools like an identity graph can help improve identity capabilities and ensure that businesses develop future-proof marketing strategies.
Once brands have full pictures of their customers, they can better deliver personalized and relevant content throughout a consumer’s journey. This makes their experience more seamless and convenient. In fact, 60% of respondents in a Forrester Consulting study said identity resolution strategies were essential to effective personalization and data-management practices.
Furthermore, identity resolution allows brands to more consistently connect with their customers across multiple devices and channels. When combined with personalized messaging, this omnichannel marketing helps brands build meaningful relationships with engaged customers and reach them with the right messaging at the right time. In turn, these strong relationships are more likely to translate to conversions and a higher ROAS for marketers.
In today’s crowded advertising space, marketers need to stand out. That means advertisers have to strengthen their identity graph strategies to create complete profiles of customers and understand their needs. As rising conversion costs and new privacy updates unsettle the marketing industry, capable identity resolution tools can be the balancing force that guides brands’ strategy into the future.
