Adobe Journey Analytics can connect to a wide array of data sources, ranging from online and offline channels to third-party systems.
Types of Data Sources for Adobe Journey Analytics
- Online Data Sources: This includes website and mobile app data, often collected through Adobe Experience Cloud solutions like Adobe Analytics.
- Offline Data Sources: Data coming from CRM systems, point of sale (POS) systems, call centers, and other offline customer interaction points.
- Third-party Data Sources: Data from external platforms like social media, ad networks, and marketing automation tools.
- Streaming Data Sources: Real-time data streams from various sources that allow for live data analysis.
- First-party Data: Information collected directly from customers through interactions with the brand’s owned channels.
- Second-party Data: Data obtained through partnerships with other companies where there is a direct relationship.
- Third-party Data: Aggregated data purchased from external data providers that do not have a direct relationship with the company.
Adobe Journey Analytics is designed to be flexible and accommodate various data ingestion methods to ensure a comprehensive view of the customer journey.
Detailed Explanations
Online Data Sources
Online data sources are typically captured through digital analytics platforms. Adobe Analytics is a common source, where data is collected through web and mobile tracking technologies such as cookies and SDKs.
Offline Data Sources
Offline data sources include any data collected outside of the online environment. This can be transactional data, customer service records, or any other customer interactions that happen in the physical world. These sources provide a deeper understanding of customer behavior beyond digital touchpoints.
Third-party Data Sources
Data from third-party sources can enrich the analysis by providing additional context or filling in gaps in the customer journey. This might include data from social media platforms, advertising data, or information from marketing automation platforms.
Streaming Data Sources
Streaming data sources allow Adobe Journey Analytics to analyze data in real-time. This is critical for businesses that require live insights to make immediate decisions, such as adjusting digital marketing campaigns on-the-fly.
First-party, Second-party, and Third-party Data
First-party data is the most valuable as it is collected directly from your customers and is unique to your business. Second-party data is obtained through trusted partnerships and can provide insights that you might not be able to collect on your own. Third-party data is often used to supplement first-party data and can help in expanding the understanding of customer behavior in a broader market context.
Step-by-Step Guide to Connecting Data Sources to Adobe Journey Analytics
1. Identify Your Data Sources
- Define the online, offline, and third-party data sources that will provide the most value for your analysis.
- Prioritize sources that align with your business goals and will help you gain deeper insights into customer journeys.
2. Prepare Your Data
- Standardize your data to ensure consistency across sources:
- Use uniform date formats, field names, and data structures.
- Apply necessary transformations to align disparate data structures.
- Example: Rename duplicate fields, reformat timestamps, or align customer IDs across systems.
3. Set Up Data Collection
- For online data:
- Implement data collection tags on your websites and mobile apps to track key user interactions.
- For offline data:
- Establish processes to regularly export offline data (e.g., CRM, in-store transactions) and import it into Adobe Experience Platform.
4. Ingest Your Data into Adobe Experience Platform
- Log in to Adobe Experience Platform (AEP) and select the appropriate ingestion method:
- Streaming Ingestion: For real-time data (e.g., live website visits, app events).
- Batch Ingestion: For periodic uploads of historical or offline data.
- Choose the appropriate data connector for your source system (e.g., Adobe Analytics, Salesforce, or API integrations).
- Follow these steps:
- Authenticate the data connector using API keys, credentials, or other access details.
- Map Data Fields: Match your source data fields (e.g., “Email” or “Purchase Amount”) to the corresponding schema in AEP.
5. Connect Customer Journey Analytics (CJA) to Adobe Experience Platform
- In Customer Journey Analytics (CJA):
- Navigate to the Connections section.
- Create a new connection to Adobe Experience Platform (AEP).
- Configure your data views in CJA:
- Select the datasets from AEP that you want to analyze in CJA.
- Define data relationships (e.g., link Customer IDs across datasets for unified analysis).
- Configure any filters or permissions to control which data is accessible in CJA.
- Validate the connection:
- Ensure that the datasets from AEP are properly integrated and visible in CJA.
6. Validate Data Integration
- Perform a data validation check to ensure the connection is functioning correctly:
- Check for missing data, misaligned fields, or errors in ingestion.
- Test the flow of real-time and batch data from AEP into CJA.
- Use test queries or reports in CJA to verify that:
- Data relationships (e.g., Customer IDs) are accurate.
- Metrics and dimensions align with your expectations.
7. Analyze Your Data in Adobe Journey Analytics
- Once your data is successfully integrated and validated:
- Start building visualizations, dashboards, and reports in Customer Journey Analytics.
- Combine data from online, offline, and third-party sources for a holistic view of customer behaviors.
- Identify trends, bottlenecks, or opportunities in the customer journey.
Conclusion
Connecting a diverse range of data sources to Adobe Journey Analytics allows businesses to gain a 360-degree view of their customers. By integrating online and offline data, as well as leveraging first-party, second-party, and third-party data, Adobe Journey Analytics provides a powerful platform for comprehensive customer journey analysis.
