Navigate the MCP Platform

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

Explain the core functionalities of Marketing Cloud Personalization.
Navigate the platform effectively and employ key reporting tools.
Understand product data collection.
Create and manage audience segments for targeted personalization.

Customer Data Capture and Reporting

At the heart of Marketing Cloud Personalization is the Web SDK, which collects data on website visitors, whether they’re anonymous users or known customers. The SDK tracks:

Time spent on pages.
Browsed products and categories.
Key interactions, such as clicks and purchases.
Geolocation and referral sources.

So if a visitor explores your site, every action is logged. This data builds a unique profile for the visitor, allowing for personalized recommendations and targeted marketing efforts.

Reporting Dashboard Overview

When you log in to Marketing Cloud Personalization, you can see the Reporting Dashboard, which provides insights into user activity and campaign performance. It includes a number of reports to help you track your campaigns. And these reports can be customized with filters and goals for deeper analysis of user behavior.

Report Type	What It Tracks
Total Revenue Snapshot	Displays sitewide revenue, orders, visits, average order value, and conversion rate
Product Recommendation Campaigns	Shows revenue generated from recommendation-based campaigns
Trending Campaign Performance	Tracks engagement metrics such as click-through rates and goal completions over time
Behavior Report	Tracks new vs. returning visitors Displays engagement levels, logged-in status, and purchase activity
Technology Report	Identifies browsers and devices used by visitors Helps optimize campaigns for different screen sizes and operating systems
Recent Visitors Report	Lists all users who have visited the site since the SDK activation Highlights active users with a green dot and allows filtering by location and behavior

The Unified Customer Profile

Each visitor’s actions contribute to a detailed profile in Marketing Cloud Personalization. These profiles include:

Affinity wheel: Displays a visitor’s interests based on interactions.
User attributes: Captures loyalty status, location, and other key details.
Interaction history: Logs time spent on pages, viewed products, and completed transactions.

For example, a returning customer named Aaron Riley might have platinum loyalty status and show a preference for waterproof, breathable gear. These insights inform targeted marketing campaigns and personalized recommendations.

Product Data Collection

Marketing Cloud Personalization not only collects customer data but also product information via the Web SDK or a product feed. Each product entry contains:

Product page URL
Price and ratings
Metadata (for example, color, size, features)

This structured product data allows you to target users based on product attributes and create dynamic content tailored to customer preferences.

Audience Segments

Segments allow you to group users based on behavioral and demographic criteria. These segments serve multiple functions, including personalized content targeting, campaign performance analysis, and defining marketing strategies.

To create a segment, go to User Segments in the left-hand menu. Here, you can view all user profiles in All Users and manage predefined audience groups in User Segments. For instance, creating a First-Time Visitor Segment involves:

Setting a filter for users with only one visit
Adjusting the date range to reflect all-time activity
Saving the segment for future campaign use

Returning visitors can be segmented by modifying the criteria to include users with two or more visits.

Filters and Goals for Campaign Optimization

Filters and goals refine campaign performance analysis. To access them, navigate to Settings, then Filters and Goals in the left-hand menu. Then apply default filters or create custom ones to analyze user engagement. Examples of goals include:

Click-through rate improvement
Purchase conversions from recommendation campaigns

Marketing Campaigns

The steps to launch a marketing campaign are fairly straightforward.

Navigate to Web Campaigns from the left-hand menu.
Search for campaigns using folders or keywords.
Create or edit campaigns based on user segments and personalization strategies.

By using collected data, audience segmentation, and goal tracking, you can execute high-impact personalized campaigns that encourage conversions.

What’s next? Hmm… if only there was a tool that could recommend what’s next? Wait, there is! In the next unit, learn more about Marketing Cloud Personalization Recommendations.

Time Estimate

Topics

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