What are the real issues at stake in a CDP?

For some time now, the world of marketing and data has been buzzing around a new keyword: the CDP for Customer Data Platform.

But, as we know, depending on the people or the context in which it is used, a keyword can hide very different realities. This is the case, for example, with the acronym CRM, which is used to describe both the customer relationship management in the broadest sense than to describe a platform where customer and prospect data is stored… Let’s take a look at the fashionable concept of the CDP.

So let's start by defining what a CDP really is…

What is a CDP (Customer Data Platform)?

The first definition of CDP was introduced in 2013 by David Raab, the founder of the CDP Institute.
He gives the following definition:

What are the main challenges of the CDP?

With a CDP, marketers can display detailed analytical reports, creating user profiles, as hearings, segments and Team unique customer viewsbut also to improve advertising and marketing campaigns by exploiting the data or by exporting to other systems.

1. Collect data

A CDP can collect data from different sources online and offline, such as websites, mobile applications and point-of-sale systems (POS), customer relationship management (CRM) systems, ERP…), databases or files.

2. Normalize the data

In a CDP, data is collected in a "raw" form from various sources (online or offline).
Before being collected, most often using ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) tools, this data is generally presented in the following formats: formats different.

Suppose, for example, that you receive dated data from two systems: one located in Europe, the other in the United States. You must therefore be aware that the date does not necessarily represent the same day following the format in which it is stored at the source.
The same recorded data, "03/12/2020", represents:
– December 3, 2020 for the European system,
– March 12, 2020 for the American system.
It is therefore important to standardize them so that they can be used without risk of error.

The normalization process therefore helps prevent errors by standardizing data into a common format. It also eliminates redundancies and transforms them to ensure consistency.

3. Enrich the raw data

The raw data collected from the various sources is stored in the CDP but is sometimes not always directly usable by the marketing teams.
For example, if you store theIP adress users (with their consent), you will not be able to activate this data without enriching it. However, if you are able to transform this IP address into a geolocation from the user's perspective, you will be able to more easily utilize this data in a targeting or dashboards.

Similarly, when you ask a consumer to provide their date of birth, the raw data is generally not directly activatable (except perhaps to send them a message on their birthday).
But if you enrich this data on the fly using a calculated fieldyou will be able to obtain his ageAnd thus profile the contact based on this new information. The age of all contacts can be used to display a dashboard, a age structureAnd, a further enhancement, segmentation by age groups, will be able to place the consumer in a demographic segment. By targeting their segment (their age range) you will finally be able to send him personalized communications with offers dedicated to his category (young, adult, senior…).
Finally, a AGGREGATE will allow you to calculate themiddle age of your consumers and to track the evolution of this age over time to know if your average customer base is getting older or younger.

Enriching your data is therefore an excellent way to have a better understanding of your customers.

4. Create a Single Customer View, a 360° customer view

The RCU then gathers all consumer data into a single record (personal data, purchasing behavior, media consumption, in-store visits (when logged in), etc.). commitment on social media etc…

Thus, marketing teams can consult these customer views in the CDP to better understand their consumers and identify how they interact with the brand across different platforms. canals.

This information can also be made available to in-store sales staff via clienteling interfaces to inform them about customer preferences and habits. Other departments, such as technical support or customer service, can also benefit from dedicated 360° views to better respond to consumer requests.

5. Target, segment, create profiles and audiences

When CDPs receive new data, they create new records or update existing profiles.

These profiles contain individual user data, such as the devices they use, their location, and engagement history (e.g., pages visited and items purchased).

From there, the marketing teams can segment the populationsand create hearings, which include profiles with common attributes such as location and behavior.

6. Enable audiences

Activation is often the ultimate goal of a CDP, as this is where marketing managers can leverage the collected data and improve the performance of their advertising and marketing activities.

There are many use cases foraudience activationHowever, most marketers will use the audiences they created in their CDP to:
- send personalized messages and timely (emails, SMS, push notifications…),
– improve the targeting of advertising campaigns on the Search Network,
– to execute retargeting campaigns on social media platforms,
– improve media buying via DSP platforms,
– to personalize the site (content or product recommendations).
- ...

Some CDPs do not include a marketing automation module by default, and instead offer to send targeted data to routing platforms. They must then retrieve data feeds in return to record user reactions (opens, clicks, behavior, purchases, etc.).

Audience activation can take place in an offline setting, for example in a store where it is sometimes difficult to personally identify the customer. To optimize this data collection, it is therefore necessary to have implemented strategies that encourage consumers to identify themselves. And this is one of the main challenges of loyalty cards.

The most advanced CDPs therefore natively offer loyalty modules that are fully integrated into their environment.

7. Analyze and create reports

Obviously, when we collect data for marketing purposes, one of the first functions we expect from the tool is the ability to perform analysesThat is to say, to produce reports to Dashboards which allow for a better understanding and a general overview of what makes up the base.

These are just a few examples. The goal of CDPs is for each brand to be able to track its own KPIs (key performance indicators) based on its activity, and not just track common indicators.

These reports are obviously powerful tools fordecision support for marketing services who want to improve their performance and increase conversions.
In a regulatory context related to the protection of personal data, CDPs are also becoming essential for legal departments by allowing DPOs to monitor and exercise the individual rights of each consumer (right of access, deletion, etc.).
Reports and analyses are also of great strength for the general directorates who can guide and adapt the company's strategy.

Strategically, the implementation of a CDP therefore goes beyond the simple operational interest of the marketing department; it also becomes a strategic tool for the management and governance of the company.

The Real CDP™ label

In order to distinguish solutions that present themselves as CDPs from those that meet genuine specifications, David Raab created the label in 2019 Real CDP™.

Who are the main players?

At the international level, there are many players.
Among them are... specialized agencies in the data that supports brands in implementing their projects. We find solution providers, the best known of which are certainly BleuVenn, BlueConic, Lytics, Tealium…
But even David Raab admits that the market is very different in the United States and in Europe.

Conclusion

There you have it, you now know what a CDP is and what the implications of such a tool are for your marketing.
According to the latest studies from the CDP Institute, the CDP market is experiencing strong growth, it reportedly increased by 71% in 2019 and was expected to reach $1 billion in revenue by the end of the year…

This spectacular growth is fueled by brands' enthusiasm to better understand their consumers.
And not just from an aggregate or statistical perspective, as is generally the case in consumer studies, but from a truly personalized one. The idea is therefore no longer simply to understand overall behavior, that of a generation or a group, but rather to to know each consumer individually and personally in order to be able to offer him a more qualified response that is tailored to his expectations.

Also read on the same topic:
LA single customer repository: the cornerstone of customer knowledge?

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