Marketing Cloud Next: Data Cloud Foundations & Value - Learning Path
Summary: Data Cloud is the backbone of Marketing Cloud Next. This path takes you from the first setup of the Unified Individual to advanced insights like CLTV. You’ll add custom fields, enrich profiles with marketing activity, resolve identity issues such as sub-addressing, and turn clean data into measurable business value.
- What you’ll learn
Establish a reliable Unified Individual as your source of truth
Extend the data model with fields you actually use for segmentation and activation
Enrich individuals with activity and CRM data for downstream use cases
Improve identity resolution (including sub-addressing) to boost segment accuracy
Derive Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV) with Calculated Insights
- Why it matters
Strong identity → accurate segments, fewer misfires, cleaner analytics
Purposeful schema → faster builds, less rework across teams
Enrichment → richer targeting, smarter triggers, better personalization
CLTV and attribution → concrete proof of long-term impact
Step 1 of 5 — Survival guide first
Data Cloud survival guide for Marketing Cloud Next
What Data Cloud is, how Unified Individual works for marketers, and how it connects to Growth & Advanced.
Read: Data Cloud Survival Guide
Next: expand the Unified Individual.
Step 2 of 5 — Add the right fields
Add new fields to the Unified Individual DMO
Extend the Unified Individual with fields for consent, scoring, lifecycle stage, and other marketer-ready attributes.
Read: Add new fields to the Unified Individual DMO
Next: enrich your data.
Step 3 of 5 — Enrich your individuals
Easily enrich your Unified Individuals in Marketing Cloud Next
Populate individuals with marketing activity, CRM events, or external streams so segments and CLTV have real fuel.
Read: Enrich Unified Individuals
Next: handle tricky identity cases.
Step 4 of 5 — Master identity resolution
Handling sub-addressing in Marketing Cloud Next
Prevent aliases and duplicates from degrading segmentation; tune identity resolution for accuracy.
Read: Handling sub-addressing
Next: turn data into business value.
Step 5 of 5 — Extract value
Calculated Insight for Marketing Cloud Next: Customer Lifetime Value
Use Calculated Insights to derive CLTV and close the loop from data structure to measurable value.
Read: CLTV with Calculated Insight