Identity Resolution
Narrator maintains and reconciles customer IDs so that you can track a single customer across multiple data sources.
Columns Used for Identity Resolution
Narrator uses three columns in each Activity Transformation to apply identity resolution.
| Activity Column | Detail |
|---|---|
anonymous_customer_id | anonymous customer ID assigned by the data source (ie. cookie_id) Note: this must be unique for each user in the activity_stream |
customer | the universal identifier used for customers across your business (usually email address) |
ts | the timestamp of the activity |
Identity resolution is applied automatically
For activities with a non-null anonymous_customer_id and customer, Narrator's processing will automatically associate the previously anonymous user with their identified customer identifier for historical and future activities.
How does identity resolution work?
Narrator takes all the activities that have a anonymous_customer_id and creates a mapping table using: anonymous_customer_id, customer, from_timestamp, to_timestamp
Based on this mapping Narrator will update all historical data for anonymous_customer_id with the customer for activities that happened between from_timestamp and to_timestamp
Why does identity resolution work so well in Narrator?
Identity resolution is often extremely challenging because you need to bridge multiple data sources and those queries become complicated and challenging to maintain.
In Narrator, you just write the activities you want and if there is a link between the anonymous_customer_id and customer, Narrator will create that association. You can write as many small transformations as needed to link anonymous_customer_id to their customer because Narrator will handle the mapping.
Finally, because Narrator uses time to manage the mapping, these cases are handled:
- Many users on a shared device.
- One user on multiple devices.
- Risk of duplication when mapping.
When is identity resolution applied?
Identity resolution happens immediately after the Activity Stream is updated.
FAQ
- When should I use
anonymous_customer_id? - How does Narrator handle Identity Resolution for users on a shared device?
- How to improve identity resolution by creating dedicated activities for identity resolution
Identity resolution is crucial to mapping users across systems
Identity resolution plays a critical part in mapping users across systems. We've compiled a few resources to help you make sure you have solid tracking in place when it comes to identity resolution.
Still have questions?
Our data team is here to help! Here are a couple ways to get in touch...
š¬ Chat us from within Narrator
š Email us at [email protected]
š Or schedule a 15 minute meeting with our data team
Updated about 3 years ago