DTC Omnichannel Strategies using Data Centralization and Activation with Maxime Lagresle

The right data analysis tools can significantly increase decision-making agility and accessibility for all business stakeholders. Centralizing sales channel data is crucial for a seamless omnichannel experience. By using reverse ETL activation, companies can revolutionize data utilization to enhance customer engagement proactively.

Max emphasizes the value of creating omnichannel customers who engage with online and offline channels. His work includes powerful ETL and reverse ETL processes, enabling the brand to manage advertising audiences and create personalized omnichannel experiences.

He also provides insights into his data stack, including integrating Segment, setting up a cloud data warehouse with BigQuery, leveraging DBT for transformation, and using Sigma Computing for BI. As the brand looks to international expansion, the push for sophisticated data usage continues, with initiatives like reverse ETL and media mix modeling at the forefront.

Main Takeaways

• Omnichannel customers are approximately three times more valuable than those who shop through a single channel, spotlighting the importance of integrated customer experience.
• Veronica Beard uses a robust data stack comprising tools like Segment, BigQuery, and Sigma Computing to centralize, analyze, and activate customer data.
• Agility in the BI tool selection proved crucial for Veronica Beard, with Sigma Computing being selected for its easy adoption by business stakeholders.
• Maxime is exploring media mix modeling with open-source tools from Meta to triangulate marketing effectiveness in a post-iOS 14 world.

Tools Mentioned in this Episode

• BigQuery: BigQuery is a robust, fully managed data warehouse that enables scalable analysis over petabytes of data. It is a serverless, highly scalable, cost-effective multi-cloud data warehouse designed for business agility.
• Fivetran: An automated data movement platform widely recognized for extracting, loading, and transforming (ETL) data for analytics or operations.
• Segment: Customer Data Platform (CDP) is utilized by over 25,000 businesses and is known for helping businesses collect, clean, and activate their data for efficient growth.
• Skypad: Comprehensive omnichannel sales reporting platform. Designed for brands and retailers, it consolidates sales and inventory data from various global partners, providing insights for better decision-making.
• Shopify: E-commerce platform that supports entrepreneurs, large brands, and businesses. It offers tools to build an online store, sell products online and in person, and manage business operations.
• Sigma Computing: A business intelligence and analytics solution that empowers teams to analyze and make data-driven decisions. It features AI capabilities, data visualization, and a spreadsheet-like interface for ease of use.
• dbt Labs: Specializes in transforming data within warehouses, streamlining the data development lifecycle. It supports collaborative analytics and integrates with various data cloud platforms, enhancing data governance and control.
• Looker: Provides a data exploration and discovery business intelligence platform, part of the Google Cloud Platform. Looker offers powerful applications, blocks, and custom plug-ins to enhance data analytics.
• Klayvio: Marketing automation platform that combines email marketing, SMS messaging, and a customer data platform (CDP), designed to help businesses create rich and engaging content for better customer connections across various channels.
• HighTouch: Ccomposable customer data platform and reverse ETL tool featuring tools for data activation, observability, and integrations with over 200 SaaS tools.
• Attentive Mobile: SMS-first software platform that helps everyone strengthen relationships with their consumers in a new way.

Centralizing Data for Amplified Omnichannel Strategy

A key pillar of Veronica Beard’s operational strategy is data centralization. This approach was implemented after deciphering omnichannel customers’ significantly higher lifetime value (LTV), which proved three times more valuable than single-channel customers.

The data centralization strategy was brought to life through the intelligent use of data warehousing and clickstream data tools. Veronica Beard harnessed the potential of Fivetran for data integration and Segment for capturing clickstream data, amalgamating information from their wholesale, retail, and e-commerce channels into a central cloud data warehouse.

“It started with that analysis where we figure out that when we look at their LTV, those omni customers are three times more valuable than single-channel customers.”

Maxime

This data backbone enabled the brand to break internal barriers and create a unified view of customer interactions across all sales channels. The insights gathered from this structured data form the basis for informed decision-making aimed at converting single-channel customers into more valuable omnichannel ones.

The Era of Data Activation with ETL and Reverse ETL

Veronica Beard leverages the power of reverse ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) to feed well-structured data into their marketing platforms seamlessly. ETL is a data integration process that involves extracting data from various sources, transforming it into a consistent format, and loading it into a target system.

Maxime highlights ETL and Reverse ETL transformative potential in harnessing and activating data for Veronica Beard. With ETL, he can centralize data by extracting it from various sources, transforming it into a consistent format, and then loading it into their central cloud data warehouse. This allows for a cohesive view of customer interactions across all sales channels, vital for their omnichannel strategy.

Reverse ETL, on the other hand, has revolutionized Veronica Beard’s marketing approach. After transforming and structuring the data, Maxime can feed it back into their marketing platforms. 

This enables the creation of personalized and targeted marketing campaigns, thereby enhancing customer experience. By implementing reverse ETL, Maxime can take full advantage of the data collected beyond mere reporting and use it to shape customer interactions and drive the brand’s marketing efforts.

Max actively experiments with cutting-edge tools like HighTouch, showcasing their unwavering commitment to harnessing the full potential of data for business gains. They understand that data goes beyond mere reporting; it has the power to shape customer interactions and influence the overall brand experience.

Data Democratization: Choosing the Right Tools

Data democratization is crucial for driving strategic growth, boosting efficiency and ROI, enabling agile decision-making, mitigating risks, and fostering a data-driven culture. But what are the right tools for Veronica Beard? How did Max get there, and what are the specifics, like Sigma Computing?

Data democratization involves making data transparent, accessible, and understandable for all departments within a company. This enables teams to generate reports and make decisions independently, reducing reliance on BI teams.

On data democratization, Scott Wilson, Senior Solutions Manager at McGaw, held a webinar highlighting the significance of trusted and transparent data sources, such as data warehouses, in achieving effective self-serve analytics.

In this ideal world, we have self-service analytics in place.

Scott Wilson

The adoption of Sigma Computing as a BI tool by Veronica Beard speaks volumes about the importance of end-user experience (democratization) in data tool selection. Maxime emphasizes Sigma Computing’s agility and familiar Excel-like interface, empowering business stakeholders to make swift, informed decisions without the burden of complex tools.

This strategic choice represents a departure from traditional BI solutions, favoring user-centric platforms that prioritize simplicity and accessibility. Companies like Veronica Beard can transform data from a specialized commodity into a collective asset by selecting tools that resonate with non-technical users.

Media Mix Modeling and Final Thoughts

Maxime’s experimentation with media mix modeling is a highlight, demonstrating a proactive approach to understanding marketing effectiveness in a dynamic digital landscape. By leveraging open-source tools from Meta, Maxime aims to optimize Veronica Beard’s marketing strategies in a post-iOS 14 world.

Veronica Beard’s move towards data activation using reverse ETL represents an innovative strategy in Maxime’s repertoire, feeding well-structured data into their marketing platforms to enhance omnichannel strategies and deliver superior customer experiences.

Maxime’s strategies and developments at Veronica Beard underscore a comprehensive and forward-thinking approach to data utilization, setting new standards in data-driven decision-making and customer-centric operations.

The brand leverages a robust data stack comprising Segment, BigQuery, and Sigma Computing to centralize, analyze, and activate customer data, reinforcing the importance of agility in decision-making processes.

As Veronica Beard and Maxime forge ahead with international expansion plans, they continue to spearhead sophisticated data usage initiatives, with reverse ETL and media mix modeling taking center stage.

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