An Increasing Number of Identity-Driven Marketers Will Invest in Building and Maintaining Customer Data Graphs That They Own And Control Says Signal About the Coming Year

Customer data continues to separate winners and losers across every sector, from retail to publishing to politics. In 2018, this trend will accelerate even further as brands look to develop direct relationships with their customers in order to thrive in increasingly competitive business landscapes. This forecast is among the findings outlined in Signal’s new special report, “Identity Is the Next Competitive Battleground: 2018 Marketing Predictions.”

Signal, the first and only Customer Identity Solution for the enterprise, annually publishes trend reports forecasting  customer data’s transformative influence across all facets of business. 2017 resoundingly confirmed predictions by the company’s in-house team of experts and thought leaders, as the year became a critical turning point for the maturation and adoption of identity-based technology.

New predictions for 2018 include:

• Brands will reinvent themselves as identity companies. Successful organizations will aggressively acquire, build and leverage proprietary identity assets, taking back ownership of the direct customer relationship. The quality of data assets will determine who thrives in a future where large platforms like Amazon, Google, and Facebook already hold an intimidating head start.
• Companies will seize control of customer data — and take control of their future. Only with control of its data can a brand control its future. An increasing number of identity-driven marketers will invest in building and maintaining customer data graphs that they own and control. These enterprise assets will empower businesses to deliver laser-targeted ads, personalize brand sites for 1:1 engagements, accurately measure marketing performance and close the loop on attribution.
• In a new era of corporate collaboration, brands will learn to share. As the year unfolds, more companies will band together in strategic alliances to forge powerful, mutually-beneficial data assets, sharing their respective first-party insights to scale and strengthen identity graphs.
• First-party data will yank retail back from the brink of collapse. Retailers will capitalize on the promise of first-party data with unprecedented focus and fervor in 2018, and not a moment too soon: it’s the best bet for survival in a marketplace turned topsy-turvy by digital disruption.
• Segmentation is yesterday. The new target is a demographic of one. Progressive brands will vault beyond segmentation in 2018, leveraging their first-party data to recast each customer as a demographic of one. Marketers will embrace next-generation services and solutions to customize consumer interactions on a micro-level – and as a result, will capture even deeper, richer data insights to enable increasingly nuanced engagement with every subsequent interaction.

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“In 2018, companies will turn all attention to identity to build a weapon for success in the customer-first revolution. Brands have discovered that a new approach is needed to retain customers and drive loyalty. With a centralized identity foundation that can ignite insights and fuel relevance across the enterprise, marketers will have an unprecedented ability to fulfill a customer’s every need,” said Mike Sands, CEO of Signal.

Signal is the first and only Customer Identity Solution for the enterprise. Signal’s platform offers an independent identity solution for brands that transforms the customer experience by connecting an always-active profile to customer engagements across all human, physical, and digital touchpoints.

Today, Signal’s technology runs on more than 45,000 digital properties in 158 countries. The platform facilitates billions of data requests monthly, supporting top brands around the world that generate more than $1.5 trillion in commerce, including Allstate, Audi, Crate & Barrel, JetBlue Airways, Starcom MediaVest Group, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, and many more.

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