The Hidden Risks of Poor Identity Resolution (And How to Avoid Them)

Bad Identity Resolution Creates Bigger Problems Than You Think

Businesses rely on identity resolution to unify customer data, improve targeting, and personalize experiences. But when identity resolution fails, it doesn’t just cause minor inconveniences—it leads to:

🚩 Wasted marketing spend on duplicate or misidentified leads
🚩 Sales teams working with incomplete or incorrect customer data
🚩 Poor customer experiences due to fragmented communication
🚩 Compliance risks from mismanaging personal data

Here’s how poor identity resolution hurts businesses—and how to fix it before it costs you even more.

1. Marketing Waste & Poor Targeting

🚩 The Problem: Bad identity resolution results in duplicate or incorrect customer records, leading to:

  • Targeting the same person multiple times in different campaigns.
  • Retargeting users who already converted, wasting ad spend.
  • Sending irrelevant or misaligned messaging, reducing engagement.

How to Fix It:
✔ Use AI-powered identity resolution to merge duplicate records accurately.
✔ Ensure marketing platforms sync with real-time identity data for better targeting.
✔ Track cross-device and cross-platform behaviors to avoid redundant ads.

📌 Example: A retail brand reduced ad waste by 30% after fixing identity resolution, ensuring past buyers weren’t targeted with new acquisition campaigns.

2. Sales Teams Chasing the Wrong Leads

🚩 The Problem: Poor identity resolution creates duplicate or fragmented leads, making it difficult for sales teams to:

  • Track who has already been contacted and where they are in the funnel.
  • Recognize high-value leads across multiple touchpoints.
  • Prioritize the right prospects instead of chasing outdated or incorrect data.

How to Fix It:
✔ Unify CRM and sales data into a single, accurate customer profile.
✔ Ensure sales teams have real-time visibility into lead activity across channels.
✔ Use identity resolution to detect which accounts have already been engaged.

📌 Example: A B2B SaaS company increased demo-to-close rates by 25% after eliminating duplicate leads and giving sales reps complete visibility into prospect engagement.

3. Poor Customer Experience & Increased Churn

🚩 The Problem: Without accurate identity resolution, customers experience:

  • Inconsistent messaging across email, ads, and customer service.
  • Frustration from repeated requests for the same information.
  • Personalization failures, making them feel like just another number.

How to Fix It:
✔ Create a unified customer view to track all interactions across platforms.
✔ Sync marketing, sales, and support teams around real-time customer data.
✔ Deliver personalized, relevant experiences based on full engagement history.

📌 Example: A subscription-based company reduced churn by 18% by using identity resolution to recognize customers across different email addresses and devices, ensuring seamless support and marketing.

4. Compliance Risks & Data Privacy Issues

🚩 The Problem: Data privacy laws like GDPR and CCPA require businesses to:

  • Track customer consent across platforms (opt-ins, opt-outs, data deletion requests).
  • Manage personal data responsibly to avoid unauthorized use.
  • Ensure identity data is accurate to prevent misattributed records.

When identity resolution is poor, businesses risk fines, lawsuits, and loss of customer trust.

How to Fix It:
✔ Use identity resolution to track consent preferences across all platforms.
✔ Ensure personal data is stored securely and accurately matched to the right person.
✔ Adopt first-party identity resolution instead of relying on unreliable third-party data.

📌 Example: A financial services company reduced GDPR compliance risks by 30% after implementing privacy-first identity resolution that correctly tracked user consent.

5. Fraud & Security Vulnerabilities

🚩 The Problem: Poor identity resolution makes it easier for fraudsters to:

  • Create fake accounts using slight variations of real identities.
  • Exploit duplicate or mismatched records for promotional abuse.
  • Commit financial fraud by taking advantage of identity gaps.

How to Fix It:
✔ Use AI-powered identity resolution to detect and prevent synthetic identity fraud.
✔ Link customer profiles across multiple data points to identify suspicious activity.
✔ Strengthen Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) efforts.

📌 Example: A fintech company reduced fraudulent account openings by 35% after improving identity resolution to detect duplicate and synthetic identities.

What Happens If You Don’t Fix Identity Resolution?

🚩 Marketing costs continue to rise due to duplicate and incorrect targeting.
🚩 Sales teams struggle with bad data, slowing down revenue growth.
🚩 Customer satisfaction declines as personalization fails.
🚩 Compliance risks increase as data privacy laws tighten.
🚩 Fraudsters exploit weak identity resolution for financial gain.

The Future of AI-Powered Identity Resolution

🔮 Businesses will shift toward first-party data strategies to improve accuracy and compliance.
🔮 AI-powered identity resolution will make real-time customer recognition the standard.
🔮 Companies that invest in identity resolution will outperform competitors in marketing, sales, and customer experience.

Want to See Identity Resolution in Action?

If poor identity resolution is costing your business money, time, and customer trust, it’s time for a better solution.

View the Identity Resolution Slide Deck to see how it works. If you’re ready to start using identity resolution the right way, you can purchase it here.

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