[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/04\/26\/customer-identity-management\/#Article","articleBody":"As more brands continue to invest in digital transformation and customer experience initiatives, they face a new challenge: How to recognize customers across channels and devices to assure customers retain control of the data they share. Enter customer identity management, also called customer identity and access management or CIAM. CIAM and CDP are a not-so-secret weapon in the battle to convert and retain customers.\nWhy does customer identity management matter and how does it help retain customers?\nStreamlined customer identity management protects and enhances customer experience. Without a customer identity management plan the laborious requirements of customers can reduce conversions, and push customers toward competitors with easier authentication processes.\u00a0CIAM and CDP do not require customers to log in each time they visit an e-commerce site or interact with your brand. Instead, customers are welcomed back and given a seamless experience.\n \nWhat is customer identity and access management? Why does it matter?\n   Customer identity and access management is becoming a must-have for brands in the digital era. Get up to speed on this emerging technology.  \nClear, customer identity management with easy-to-use data control tools\u00a0matters\u00a0for CX, too. A Cisco study found that 32% of consumers had switched to a competitor because they were unhappy with a brand\u2019s data-use policies. 90% of the consumers in this group said the way a brand handles their data indicates how the brand will treat them as customers. When a CIAM and CDP are in place, customers experience scant uncertainty or risk.\nThe new approach: Centralized customer identity management\nThere\u2019s now a new way companies can improve both customer authentication and data consent. The centralized customer identity and consent model through CDP lets customers sign on once and be recognized across their interactions with the brand \u2013 either with an account, they create with the brand or using existing credentials for Google, Facebook, or another social network.\nWith the CIAM and CDP model, customers can easily view and change the type of data they share. The customer\u2019s data is then stored centrally, so it can be provided as needed across different applications, products, and services, similar to the microservices architecture model for software applications. The beauty of CIAM is that as more opportunity is created to satisfy your customers, the risk to their personal information is made smaller. There are several benefits to this approach, including:\nFrictionless, omnichannel customer experience\nTransparency builds customer trust\nCompliance\nStreamlined operations\nImproved security\n \nWhat is CDP? | Customer Data Platform, defined\n   Businesses have lots of data - but what do they do with it? Discover how a CDP helps organizations reach customers, identify intent, and personalize messaging to exceed KPIs and bottom line projections.  \nCentralized customer identity for a unified omnichannel experience\nCustomer identity management frees customers from needing to constantly sign-on, manage passwords, or deal with remembering or resetting their login credentials. It also helps buyers get through the checkout process quickly, access content, or engage with the brand in other ways.\nThe biggest impact that users notice with this customer identity management model is how easy it is to engage with brands that have access enabled via social and third-party credentials. The truth behind the omnichannel customer experience is that once you experience it, anything less is unacceptable.\nFor example, an electronics brand might offer a single-click registration and sign-on to establish customers\u2019 identity on their mobile app or e-commerce platform by leveraging a social platform. If the customer buys an infotainment system or a device like a smart speaker, they can use the same identity to access their new purchases and have a personalized experience based on the brand\u2019s knowledge of their preferences and habits thanks to CIAM.\n \nOmnichannel customer experience: Turning chaos into community\n   Any aspect of your brand that touches a customer or a potential customer is part of your omnichannel customer experience - and having or not having an omnichannel CX can make or break you today.  \nAs the customer benefits from easier registration and logins, brands can identify customer behavior better across multiple channels and services with a profile enriched by their social profile. That can help drive an end-to-end personalized experience with tailored content, so the customer feels truly known, with a more consistent experience across devices, channels, and solutions.\nCustomer identity management: Giving customers control\nBy giving the customer control of their data upfront, brands can create a feeling of confidence and trust. The customer knows exactly what they\u2019re sharing, and they know that they can always go back and either change or withdraw their data permissions all the while enjoying an omnichannel customer experience.\nIf they do make changes, they can be automatically applied across all channels, applications, and services through CIAM and CDP.\u00a0Transparency and control of data are also part of the customer experience, and centralization can improve this, too. When customers sign into their account or profile, the brand can ask them what data they\u2019ll let the brand collect from their social accounts, what data the customer will let them share, and how they want the brand to use their data. This allows customers to be a part of CIAM and, as a result, aware of the ways in which you have worked to simplify and streamline their experience.\nBenefits of customer identity management: Better compliance, operations, and security\nA single solution for customers to control their data permissions can also help companies maintain and demonstrate compliance with a growing number of data privacy laws. Understanding consumer-protection regulations like GDPR\u00a0in the EU and following the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), as well as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).\nEven in markets that don\u2019t have privacy laws yet, forward-thinking companies are planning for potential laws and adopting best practices for customer data control and disclosure. By centralizing CIAM permissions now, brands are in a better position to adjust to any future regulations while also preserving omnichannel customer experience.\nCentralized customer identity management benefits also include:\nFrees brands and customers from new permissions requests for each new channel, app, device, and experience they roll out\nReduction in customer friction\nStreamlining of operations for the brand\nInstead of having to manage consent and compliance for each application, customer data is managed from one central source, according to the practices that brands set for their applications to automatically follow\n \nTypes of customer data: Definitions, value, examples\n   Types of customer data serve distinct purposes. Identity data, descriptive data, attitudinal data, behavioral data defined with examples.  \nAnother benefit for brands using CIAM and CDP is better security for customer accounts.\nWhen their centralized identification uses third parties like Facebook and Apple ID, the brand doesn\u2019t store the passwords. When a brand is registered with the login credentials and passwords that customers provided, they are stored in a central location and not in each of the brand\u2019s applications.\nAt a time when account takeover fraud is the most common type of digital fraud, centralizing or eliminating credential storage can protect brands from breaches, financial losses, and a loss of customer trust.\nKeep up with changing rules & customer needs using customer identity management\nCentralizing customer identity and consent require planning, expertise, and the right technology. Brands that make this investment now can deliver a better customer authentication experience, offer more personalized experiences, and protect customer credentials while lowering the cost of compliance and operations.\nBy centralizing these processes now, brands will also be prepared to keep delivering a seamless experience when they roll out new apps and products if new privacy rules take effect and as customer experience keeps evolving.\nStand out from the crowd by understanding your customers, keeping your promises, and protecting consumer data. Learn how HERE.","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/04\/26\/customer-identity-management\/#Article_Person","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/04\/26\/customer-identity-management\/#Article_Person_ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Sree-Gogineni_Capgemini-e1619197216999-150x150.png"},"name":"Sree Gogineni","sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/CapgeminiNA","https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/04\/26\/customer-identity-management\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/sree-gogineni\/"},"dateModified":"2021-08-25T02:18:53+00:00","datePublished":"2021-04-26T05:06:06+00:00","description":"Learn benefits of centralized customer identity management like omnichannel customer experience + better security. CIAM and CDP reward.","headline":"Is it easy for consumers to buy from you? 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