CDP Platform: What It Is and What Data It Collects
What is a CDP
To integrate a CDP platform into your business, the collaboration of several employees is required:
It is advisable to involve multiple specialists, each responsible for their segment of work. In some cases, one specialist may handle various tasks, but it is preferable to engage different employees for more effective execution of each task.
Why CDP is needed
Consolidate customer data
If customer information is scattered across different locations, it is not only inconvenient but also hinders and slows down the work of specialists, making campaign management more complex. There is a risk of losing customer data.
Personalize customer interactions
Analyze customer behavior
Through the marketing platform, the interaction of customers with the company is tracked: what purchases they make, which services interest them the most, and much more. Analysis allows adjusting operations, predicting which products need to be stocked, and keeping them in inventory.
Formulating hypotheses and forecasting demand
With the help of a customer data platform, specialists determine which products are needed by your audience and at what price.
Setting up a unified loyalty program
Increasing customer satisfaction with the company
Advantages of CDP
CDP platforms act as intermediaries between customers and businesses, identifying the target audience of your company, as well as how each individual customer interacts with it.
CDP platform also:
- Optimizes marketing strategies;
- Improves segmentation;
- Increases sales;
- Enhances customer satisfaction;
- Improves targeting;
- Provides detailed analytics.
Data collected by CDP
How CRM differs from CDP
On the other hand, CDP has a broader spectrum of data collection. The platform helps obtain and systematize various types of information from social networks, websites, search engines, applications, CRM, and other sources. Moreover, CDP collects data even about unidentified users. The customer data platform is also capable of merging online and offline information about customer actions.
Using artificial intelligence, some platforms can predict user behavioral factors and create segments that are most suitable for a specific campaign.
How to сhoose a CDP system
Define the Tasks Addressed by the CDP Customer Data Platform
Identify the company's problems that can be solved through CDP implementation. For example, disorganized storage of customer information may be one problem that can be resolved by organizing data through the creation of segments based on interests and location. In this case, marketing software will effectively address the task.
Select CDP providers
CDP providers differ in various aspects such as price, technical capabilities, service, and support. To avoid mistakes in selection, it is not recommended to simply subscribe to the first result in search. It's advisable to choose around ten providers to determine which one best suits your needs. Compare them based on price and services offered, study reviews, and connect with demo versions of marketing automation platforms.
Contact a suitable provider
Once you have chosen a provider, it is recommended to verify whether the information and prices on their website are accurate. If everything is in order, you can proceed to request a CDP presentation, asking for a sample contract and the final cost for financial planning.
CDP implementation stages
The timeline for implementing marketing software depends on various factors:
The implementation procedure of the service generally includes the following stages:
- Preparation: It is necessary to develop plans for using tools and provide detailed descriptions of the implementation procedures.
- Integration: The service connects to the website to identify visitors. Additional tools are utilized to accomplish tasks. At this stage, all information sources and databases previously used in the organization are connected for importing stored data.
- Information analysis and training take place during operations. Before commencement, identifiers, event tracking scenarios, and tool parameters are configured. Subsequently, tools can be applied for analytics and business performance evaluation.
- New functionality can be introduced during operations. The system is configured considering the peculiarities of business processes and company requirements.
Which companies need CDP for operations
A CDP becomes essential for companies that gather and store extensive volumes of data about their customers. Such companies require a platform capable of providing:
- Collection and storage of customer information.
- User data segmentation into categories for further utilization.
- Analysis and processing of information, presenting it in the form of reports, tables, and charts.
Small businesses and startups, on the other hand, shouldn't implement CDP as they have a limited number of customers and distribution channels, resulting in restricted access to data. Implementing CDP would be expensive for them and may not be beneficial. Instead, it is more practical for startups and small businesses to analyze customer data using other methods, either manually or through simple programs.
Conclusion
For modern marketing, it is crucial to gather, store, and structure customer information from various sources, hence the need for marketing services. Customer Data Platform (CDP) platforms are becoming increasingly popular.
The implementation of a CDP platform provides the opportunity to interact effectively with customers and increase the company's revenue. It is essential to choose and implement this tool correctly, considering its objectives.
CDP systems handle large volumes of data and are suitable for large organizations. Such services organize and analyze information coming from all sources.
It is important to remember that such a marketing platform may prove to be unreasonably expensive for small businesses and emerging companies.
