Data silos are one of the biggest challenges for effective marketing. Personalized content requires an all-round understanding of the customer. To achieve this, data must be brought together and analyzed holistically. CDP software helps companies to achieve exactly that. But which CDP software is right for your company? We compared 17 customer data platform providers based on over 190 criteria. The article summarizes the key results. You can also download a summary of the CDP software comparison.
The right analysis of customer data is essential for companies to offer customers an excellent customer experience. Marketing teams can use the various pieces of information to create customized content and – ideally – deliver it in real time so that customers always receive the right information at the right time for their customer journey. So much for the theory.
In practice, things look a little different. This is because usually data silos form in companies. Customer data can be found in the CRM, in the results of web analytics and in the information obtained from social media monitoring and many other data sources. Due to the data silos, it is estimated that only 50 to 74 percent of customer data is used effectively. In a Statista survey, almost a third of companies even assume that only 25 to 49 percent of existing customer data is being used. A lot of potential that remains untapped. The challenge for companies is therefore to break down the existing data silos and make all generated customer data accessible for comprehensive analytics – so that a 360° image of customers is ultimately created, which can be used to design marketing measures more effectively. But how do you break out of the silo trap? The Customer Data Platform (CDP) is a key development for consolidating and holistically analyzing customer data.
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What characterizes a CDP software? – Definition of CDP
The Customer Data Platform forms a data center. It collects customer data at all possible touchpoints and consolidates it into complex and unique customer profiles using analytics functions. GDPR-compliant, of course. As a data center, the CDP breaks down silos and makes the information available to various relevant stakeholders and customer touchpoints (e.g. the website).
CDP software can have different orientations. On the one hand, there are customer data platforms that focus on data management. On the other hand, other solutions focus on the orchestration of channels through the information obtained about customers. There are also CDP solutions that focus on the personalization of content through analytics.
Categories of the market overview
- General information
- Language of the user interface
- Industry specialization of CDP software providers
- Basic functions of the CDP software
- Data management functions
- Typical use cases
- Possible touchpoints
- Interfaces of the CDP software
- Legal criteria and additional services
- Price approach of CDP providers
- The software providers in the CDP software comparison
The basis: SaaS solution, multichannel capability and visualized customer journey
Basic functions are fundamental to any software solution. This is why a CDP should always offer the option of including various channels in the data mining process. After all, customers are now using different channels more than ever before – websites, social media, online stores, etc. Multichannel recognition of customer identity is therefore essential in order to obtain a 360° view of customers. It is at least as important to visualize the customer journey correctly. Which stages do customers go through? Where do they look for what information? When do they drop out of the customer journey? Such information is important information for increasing the customer experience and ultimately the conversion rate through better personalized content. In our CDP software comparison, all providers that provide information on multichannel recognition and visualization of the customer journey make these functions available.
The question of installing the CDP software is also likely to be a not insignificant factor for you. The question of installation on your own server or a SaaS solution is driven by security aspects, but also by costs.The providers in the market overview mainly offer SaaS solutions for a Customer Data Platform. The advantage: the CDP is easier to scale and is generally more cost-effective than installations on an in-house server – especially as data security is a top priority for CDP providers.
Data security is a central component of CDP software
Data security is the topic of the day. For this reason, data scandals make big waves and can put companies in great distress. Data protection is therefore a highly sensitive issue. Caution is required, especially when customer data is to be collected and analyzed in order to offer better personalized content. So it’s no wonder that companies take a very close look at software manufacturers. We have done the same in our comparison and can say: In terms of data security, the majority of providers in our comparison have ISO 27001 and/or SOC2 certifications. Other certifications are also possible and are sometimes very extensive. GDPR-compliant data generation and storage is mandatory, as is the anonymization of personal data. The providers also consistently provide server locations in Germany. Protection against cyber attacks is also extremely important to the software manufacturers.
Versatile interfaces for the best use of data
What characterizes a CDP? – That was our initial question. The answer: breaking down data silos to gain a holistic view of customers. For this to succeed, a lot of interfaces to different systems are of course necessary. In our comparison, we have therefore focused on the almost countless interface options. We also looked at interfaces to common CMS solutions, various ERP systems and CRM systems. Overall, we can state that the CDP providers in our market overview offer extensive interfaces. The majority of the tools and systems considered can therefore be connected. This is a key aspect when setting up a CDP in an existing IT ecosystem. In addition, some tools and systems are already integrated into the CDP solution, such as business intelligence applications.
Conclusion
A CDP is an important building block for better understanding customers across different channels in their customer journey and optimizing content. Data silos continue to inhibit performance and need to be broken down for an all-round understanding. This can be achieved with CDP software that can be adapted to the needs of the company using it. The information in our market overview will provide you with a sound basis for making decisions on how to make your marketing even more effective with the right CDP solution. Use your customer data not only to 50 percent, but to 100 percent!
