There are indications that the CDP field is maturing, with major launches like those from SAP and Salesforce last October, and that adoption of this customer data hub solution is spreading through marketing organizations. However, assuming we’re not dealing with green fields and that customer data is already stored in a CRM, in a marketing automation system, or possibly both, concerns about the implementation process are understandable. Is it time to disrupt systems which may not be perfect, but at least are working?

Here are some questions marketing teams will need to address:

• Is this the right time?
• Is your customer data clean enough?
• Is your team on board?
• Will the CDP operate across the channels important to your business?
• And who’s in charge?

Established in 1946, and still family-run, Franklin Sports of Massachusetts recently implemented a CDP, prioritizing its connection to the most critical channel for the business -— email, and connecting to a DSP for programmatic ad buying.

Read more here.

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In an interview with Search Engine Land, the 2020 Agency of the Year award winners in SEO and SEM give a behind the scenes look at running an agency in 2021 and beyond. Adam Heitzman from Higher Visibility and David Black from Wpromote sat down with Matt Van Wagner to discuss how to vet clients, maintain client connections, and prevent employee burnout, plus their predictions for SEO and SEM in 2021.

When asked what single piece of advice they have for other agency owners, Heitzman said, “If you’re able to show value, manage expectations, and communicate with your clients, you’re going to keep your clients.” Black added in, “It’s also focusing on what’s coming, emerging opportunities, and different avenues–so expanding beyond Google into different channels.”

Read more and watch the interview here.

Adobe this week released its final report on 2020 holiday shopping, based on its unique insight into more than one trillion visits to U.S. retail sites. The season was as successful for retailers as it seemed to be at the time. “In light of the pandemic, digital has become the primary way for people to connect, work, be entertained and shop, helping set online spending records for the holiday season at $188.2B, which represents 32.2% YoY growth,” said Taylor Schreiner, Director, Adobe Digital Insights, in a release.

Average daily online revenue was $3.2 billion, a jump of almost a third on 2019. There was a YoY increase of 40% on BOPIS. The bump in online sales benefited small retailers almost as much as the giants. And on Christmas Day, more than half of purchases were executed on smartphones for the first time ever.

Why we care. We care about the retail sector surviving -— and some parts of it thriving -— against a backdrop of almost 11 million Americans unemployed. We also care that the holiday shopping statistics may reflect a “K-shaped” recovery. With so many families struggling to pay rent and bills, the holiday spree may be telling us that some sectors of the population are doing much better under the pandemic than others.

We spoke with Adobe’s Taylor Schreiner just before the holiday season.

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“Marketers are facing a unique challenge in 2021: Increasing efficiency and effectiveness at the same time.” Akshay Ramdul, Marketing Director, Jabmo.