How do you connect data sources in Customer Insights?
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The data sources form the basis of the consolidated profile. This guide shows the sequence that minimizes the cleanup required afterward.
- 6 steps
- Total time: 3 h
- Preparation: 1 h
- Result: Data sources that provide profiles you can trust
Required tools
- Customer Insights – Data — With permission to add data sources.
- Overview of the source systems — Which ones contain customer data, and who owns them.
Connect
1.Start with two sources
The CRM and the most important system alongside it. If you connect six at the same time, troubleshooting becomes unmanageable when the profiles look odd.
2.Map the fields to a common model
Email, phone number, and name must be labeled the same after import. This is tedious but determines how well the merge works.
3.Clean up the source rather than the tool
If the phone numbers are formatted differently, correct them in the source system where possible. Any subsequent data cleansing must be repeated each time the data is imported.
Merge and verify
4.Set the merge rules
Email as the primary key, phone number as a secondary identifier. Do not merge based on name alone—it may link different people together.
5.Check one hundred profiles manually
Review merged profiles and look for two people who have been combined into one. The statistics do not show this error, but it is obvious when you see it.
6.Set the update frequency as needed
Daily is sufficient for most people. More frequent updates cost more and rarely lead to better decisions.
Discussion
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