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Customer Data Pipeline - Is it the Best Solution?
Here, we are going to learn about the Customer Data Pipeline, The CDP Challenge, Understanding DMPS, Are DMP or CDP Needed, etc.
Submitted by IncludeHelp, on DEC 10, 2020
Nowadays, there are lots of platforms and data tools that lead to hard times when assessing the best one to make improvements in marketing. After all, you are always after the best marketing technology to solve omnichannel problems such as alignment of collapse silos and fragmented data, manage customer data to create clear reports, single customer view, and enhance customer service. Also, you want it all to be simple.
So, what does a CDP mean, and can it solve data challenges even alone?
Now, this is where marketers get into confusion as CDP has no single and profound definition that even leading companies have their perceptions. According to Gartner, Customer Data Pipeline CDP refers to the marketing system that aims to unify the company's customer data coming from marketing to other channels. This helps to optimize timing when targeting offers and messages and to enable customer modeling. All in all, CDP is defined as the marketing software that puts effort into centralizing data from multiple data to create a unified customer database. This will then be used by other marketing systems. Also, a CDP can help in aggregating the customer data of a company into a single database.
However, marketers may need additional CDPs to achieve their marketing goals, as well as to align the data landscape.
The CDP Challenge
Given that there are more than 90 CDP vendors and a variety of definitions, confusion will exist not only about its components but also the depth and breadth of its capabilities. CDPs are not the same.
The capabilities such as segmentation, software maturity, and features vary from one vendor to another, and it will be complex to find one that can solve your data challenges. Other tools from your marketing tech stack will now play its part.
Understanding DMPS
There have been countless cases of confusion about the difference between Data Management Platform DMP and CDP. Both can add a centralization aspect to your data ecosystem. However, DMP is focused more on the audience, helping marketers to manage, collate, and third-party and house-first data to use insight to launch, optimize, and analyze campaigns and create target audiences. On the other hand, CDP helps to centralize customer data into one single database.
Are DMP or CDP Needed?
Essentially, CDP can help in aggregating the customer data into one single database. At the same time, DMP is focused on aggregating and managing the digital audience data, including online behavioral data, cookies, look-alike audiences, and so many more. It also enables the segmentation of audience, optimizations, and analysis.
There are still other platforms to combine with DMP or a CDP to make improved results, such as when you need the incorporation of sophisticated identity resolution within a DMP or CDP.
If you consider CDP, these are its benefits to expect. Though this is still finding its way for more improvements, lots of CDP vendors are claiming that this helped marketers.
- Integrates and collects customer data from offline and digital systems- connecting with CRM and marketing applications as source systems.
- Addresses the single customer view needs across marketing channels.
- Manages the customer reviews and claims that it can create persistent and universal consumer views through resolving visitors' and customers' identities within different channels.
Things to Consider when Evaluating CDP
This is to conduct a clear and careful assessment of the needs of your company. Ensure that you take a step back. Is CDP the right and compatible solution for a use case, and if yes, does it include the needed capabilities?
- Review any of your existing marketing technology
Does it align and support your CDP choice?
Lots of CDPs are not and not yet designed to support closed-loop measurement use cases and omnichannel analytics. Consider or require if you have- it can help and address the requirements through a solution in achieving the declared capabilities of your CDP.
- Ensure that there is support in place for implementation and optimal use of a CDP and a data strategy.
- Consider if you have the experiences and resources to implement solutions
Are the sets of right skills possessed by your company? Or will you use third-party services and technology? You need to keep in mind that several companies are still struggling to realize the true value of a CDP.
- Explore the potential data that your CDP can manage
Though lots of CDP providers are claiming that their solutions have managed customer data successfully, including PII or the Personally Identifiable Information, they might not manage the systems' customer data, as well as provide privacy-compliant process and data governance rules to ensure that the personal data is correctly utilized. One example is when a CDP is not designed for managing sensitive customer data and abide by strict regulations such as PCI, HIPAA, and FCRA.
- Evaluate if the CDP provides a high-quality and complete single view of customers
CDPs are claiming that this is done, yet there are still recorded shortages in identity resolution, identity management features, and data quality that are required in attaining an excellent single view of customers.
All of these must be weighed and assessed by marketers to determine whether the optimal path is forwarding to address brand needs in activating and unifying data. One of the leading experiences and leverages of a unified data layer framework is the Acxiom. This provides a profound foundation for an enterprise-class and scalable solution that aids that brand needs.
Below are the capabilities of Acxiom that you can apply to improve your company's CDP and marketing stack.
- Omnichannel measurement, closed-loop
- Best data governance and class privacy
- Optimal marketing stack evolution
- Enterprise-class data management and integration
- A high-quality single view of customers through Identity Resolution and Management
- Marketing collaboration and second-party data
- Campaign planning, analytics, and execution are supported day by day by expert professionals.
Leaders in marketing can have collaborated with Acxiom to confidently leverage a committed partner to achieve unique goals and solutions to optimize the surrounding omnichannel data foundation. After all, leveraging the best breeds of technology includes a CDP having proven services aimed to generate the best returns on investment.