8 Best Customer Data Platforms to Unlock the Power of Your Data

Think for a moment about the giants in American business. Apple, Amazon, Google, and the like all have one thing in common: They know how to use data strategically to dominate the market. There’s no doubt that a big-picture understanding of your customers is a must for your business to evolve and stand the test of time. A Customer Data Platform (CDP) puts you in the driver’s seat as you collect, analyze, and put customer data to use. Read on to understand how a CDP functions, why you should invest in one, and tips for selecting the best one for your goals.

What is a Customer Data Platform (CDP)?

A Customer Data Platform (CDP) is a central repository for all customer data. You can use it to collect and merge data from disparate sources. Think website analytics, CRM platforms, and marketing automation tools. Taking the time to do this helps business owners and marketers understand their customers on a deeper level. This investment can separate companies that flounder from those that thrive.

What do CDPs do?

CDPs make it possible for business leaders to extract more value from customer data. Here’s a look at a few of the real-world examples in the business world:

Data Collection

CDPs aggregate relevant information, including first-party, second-party, and third-party data.

Data Unification

CDPs present insights into a consistent view so there are no discrepancies or isolated data.

Data Activation

CDPs make it possible for users to make a greater impact across multiple marketing touchpoints.

Customer Segmentation

Users can use CDPs to group customers into buckets based on intangibles like demographics, buying history, and preferred means of communication.

Personalized Experiences

CDPs can help marketers deliver richer experiences to customers. In return, they can expect higher engagement and more long-term customers.

Measurement and Analytics

CDPs can help marketers make more informed decisions when approaching marketing activities and engaging with customers.

Customer Data Platforms vs. Other Data Management Solutions

Customer relation platforms (CRMs) allow users to track and observe customer touchpoints and data. This work can help brands build and nurture strong customer relationships. DMPs have a similar but different use case. They bring efficiency to data collection and analysis so that marketers can break down customers into segments with the intention of targeting. They most often rely on third-party data and tracking technology like cookies to get to know website visitors and their behaviors online.

Data Management Platforms (DMPs)

Both CDPs and DMPs can help company leaders use data more strategically, but they have different purposes. DMPs rely on anonymous inputs and are mostly used in the context of advertising and targeting. Conversely, CDPs deal with known quantities. They’re used to inform customer experiences and help marketers hit the mark when developing campaigns.

Customer Relationship Management Platforms (CRMs)

Marketers use CRMs as tools to support customer relationships and keep sales pipelines full. CRMs aren’t the best solution if you want to place a laser focus on analytics. CDPs, however, can bring more utility to CRMs by presenting a more refined look at customer data. In this way, marketing teams can develop more advanced outreach programs.

Common CDP Use Cases

One strength of Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) is that they can help business leaders get to know their customers beyond the group dynamic. Here’s a look at a few of the main reasons marketing teams use them in their work:

Unifying Customer Profiles

CDPs merge data from disparate sources, creating a simple customer profile. Such a view enables businesses to understand customer behavior, preferences, and how customers have made purchases.

Customer Segmentation

Marketers use CDPs to place customers into buckets according to shared traits, including demographics, activity, or preferences. Drilling down allows them to develop and execute more niche marketing campaigns that tend to produce more favorable outcomes.

Audience Lookalike Modeling

CDPs are great at helping marketers unlock new audiences based on existing customer cohorts. In this way, marketing professionals might find they broaden their influence and onboard new customers with similar profiles.

Omnichannel Automation

CDPs simplify the means of delivering a message across more than one channel so that the customer experience remains seamless. A firm command of customer attitudes and behaviors is necessary to curate offers that translate into action based on timing, buyer motivations, and other factors.

Enhancing the Customer Journey

CDPs allow business leaders to identify frustrations and areas where there’s room for positive change. Getting into the weeds of buyer activity can lead to a necessary refinement of key areas in the customer journey.

Retargeting

CDPs use technology to produce lists of customers who’ve interacted with the brand but haven’t taken the step to make a purchase. Customized promotions and offers can influence them and have a greater impact than generic outreach would.

Demand Forecasting

Past and current sales numbers can provide some frame of reference related to future demand for a company’s offerings. This clarity is important to match stock with demand.

Key Benefits of Customer Data Platforms

Customer Data Platforms are helpful in achieving the following:

More Marketing Personalization

CDPs can be your secret weapon in curating personalized marketing campaigns that entice customers with offers that might appeal to their interests and needs. This refinement can lead to more impressive engagement and conversion rates because customers appreciate the legwork to learn about them as individuals and not just as a cohort.

Real-Time Analysis

CDPs give you a window into customer behavior at any given moment, so decision-makers can act more quickly to capitalize on consumer trends and customer expectations.

Enhanced Customer Analytics

CDPs can be an advantage in better understanding motivations, preferences, and getting them to stick around.

Single Customer View

Marketers can use CDPs to look at all data at the same time. This reduces the occurrence of silos and helps you gain actionable insights you can use to inform your marketing outreach.

Improved Data Security

CDPs safeguard data security and privacy, so you won’t have to worry about losing customer trust and a weakened reputation. The centralization factor also helps companies meet regulations while acting in the best interest of their customers to prevent data breaches.

Best Customer Data Platforms To Leverage Your Data

With all the CDPs on the market, you might wonder about which direction to go. Several exist, and each has its points of difference. There isn’t necessarily a right or wrong choice. It’s best to read up on features and constraints, so you understand the product. Here’s a look at the basics so you can make a more informed decision when investing in a CDP solution.

Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Salesforce Marketing Cloud is an extensive marketing solution that includes a CDP. You can use it for email marketing, mobile marketing, social media marketing, and advertising purposes. The Salesforce CDP is best known for personalizing campaigns and delivering optimized experiences no matter the channel.

Emarsys

Emarsys uses AI to develop personalized marketing campaigns. The CDP functionality allows you to gather, review, and act on information to hit goals. Emarsys is a good fit for e-commerce and retail businesses.

Segment

True to its name, Segment helps marketers collect and unify customer data no matter the origin. Segment works well with other marketing automation tools and solutions, making it practical and seamless.

Bloomreach

Bloomreach’s exhaustive platform includes a CDP. Brands can use it to create and monitor personalized experiences in several contexts. Bloomreach makes it simple to collect and analyze customer data to serve up custom product recommendations, content, and marketing campaigns.

Insider

Insider’s advantage is that it uses AI-powered personalization to improve customer engagement and conversion numbers. Marketers rely on the CDP component to gather and sift through customer data to deliver more meaningful experiences across the customer journey.

Adobe Real-Time CDP

A part of the Adobe Experience Cloud, this platform helps users get more out of customer data. It’s a helpful tool to determine how to reach people online so they’re motivated to act. Adobe Real-Time CDP might be best for large enterprises with more sophisticated marketing needs.

Oracle Marketing Cloud

Oracle Marketing Cloud’s CDP helps marketing teams better design email campaigns, social media content, and advertising campaigns. It’s particularly helpful in getting clarity around customer behavior so brands can know how to best invite customers to engage.

CaliberMind

A B2B product, CaliberMind helps companies get to know the people they’re trying to reach. Its built-in analytics can support performance on the fronts of marketing campaigns and lead generation.

How To Choose the Best Customer Data Platform for Your Business

When evaluating a CDP, you might want to ask yourself the following questions:

Does this CDP align with my use case requirements?

You should have a firm command of your business needs and be able to determine if and to what extent the CDP can fulfill them. You’ll want to take into account the nature of your data, the intended number of channels, and the degree of personalization required to be successful.

Does it integrate seamlessly with my tech stack?

The CDP needs to work with your existing marketing tools, or else you run the risk of complicating your efforts. It should work with and support your CRM, email marketing software, and analytics solutions. The best CDP will lead with integration, not make it an afterthought or an understated feature.

Does this vendor have experience with companies in my industry?

The prospective vendor should have familiarity with businesses in your vertical. At a minimum, they should feature case studies and praise from similar companies that vouch for their capabilities and results.

Giving these questions proper weight will help you find a CDP that will help you maximize customer data, connect with your customer base , and close more deals.

Get More From Your Customer Data Platform (CDP) With Podium

Some tools are more powerful when used in tandem with others. Podium, when paired with a Customer Data Platform (CDP), can help you achieve your data-related goals. Its strength is that it’s a source of first-party customer data. Here’s a closer look at how Podium works:

1. Building More Robust Customer Profiles

Podium logs customer interactions like text messages, reviews, and survey responses in real-time. You can transmit this data into a CDP to flesh out customer profiles in greater detail.

The sentiment analysis application is also powerful. By getting a sense of how customers are feeling at any given moment, Podium can alert you to trends related to satisfaction and brand perception. From here, it’s easier to group customers and send custom messages that match the temperature.

2. Improving Customer Segmentation

You can use Podium to get a firmer grasp of customer behavior. This intelligence can help refine and produce more detailed customer segmentation.

3. Enhancing Marketing Campaigns

Marketing teams can use Podium’s data to inform marketing outreach and campaigns. The most successful efforts are ones driven by customer preferences and past interactions. When customers are presented with relevant promotions and offers they tend to reward you with their loyalty.

4. Streamlined Customer Support

Podium’s messaging features bring efficiency to customer communication. Shorter response times bode well for customer satisfaction and retention.

5. Better Measure Campaign Effectiveness

Podium makes it easy to see whether marketing campaigns produced are getting the intended results. That way, you don’t waste time and money on efforts that don’t capture your audience’s attention.

Integrating Podium with a CDP is a smart move. Businesses can get to know their customers better, improve customer satisfaction, and hit milestones in faster timelines. Watch a demo and learn more about this game-changing platform.