Hands-On Salesforce Data Cloud

Chapter 10. Identity Resolution

In previous chapters, we learned how to ingest data into Data Cloud from multiple sources, add new formula fields and apply transformations, and map the data to the Salesforce Customer 360 Data Model. Our goal now is to learn how to unify all the data from different sources. The most common use of CDPs is to create unified profiles for individuals, and that will be the primary focus of this chapter. Note, however, that it is possible to create unified profiles for accounts using Salesforce Data Cloud. This is especially useful when working with household accounts.

Identity resolution (aka unification) is an identity management process whereby the data attributes of people from many different sources are matched and reconciled into comprehensive views called unified profiles. In Salesforce, identity resolution is powered by rulesets that include the matching and reconciliation rules needed to stitch together known information about the individual from disparate data sources. Another powerful feature of identity resolution is that unknown audience data stored in Data Cloud can be matched with the right unified profile once some identifying information about the audience becomes known. Within this chapter, you’ll discover how to establish identity resolution rulesets and then create match rules and reconciliation rules within each ruleset.

The journey to ultimately getting to the unified profiles begins with a lot of planning and culminates when the ...