Menu
Customer data management is a crucial task for any business. Several tools exist to simplify or automate this task, such as CDP (customer data platform), CRM (customer relationship management) and DMP (data management platform). Many of their functionalities overlap, but there are key elements to determine whether CDP is the most useful solution for your customer data management.
The customer data platform “CDP” is a tool for automating data collection. Through its unique infrastructure, the CDP makes it possible to connect all types and sources of customer data, whether internal or external to the company. It therefore creates a permanent and unified customer database allowing companies to have a complete view of each customer and gain in agility.
A CRM stands for “customer relationship management”, it is used to manage interactions with customers and potential customers. Typically, CRMs serve as a sales tool and primarily contain customer data related to sales and marketing activities. Unlike the CDP, a CRMs are not designed to facilitate the personalization of customer experiences. There is some limitation on the number of channels and data sources that can interact with these. Traditionally, a CRM cannot, for example, extract information from an external solution or from social networks. Nor can it deliver content to various channels throughout a customer’s lifecycle.
Part of your customer data coud be in a CRM. However, other data will only be accessible from other sources such as your email solution, your various social networks, your e-commerce and many others. A typical CRM cannot access any of these systems, let alone the important data they contain. The modern CDP was born to address these limitations. CRMs were just too limiting to meet all marketing use cases and they didn’t provide analytical information. While for some use cases a CRM is the ideal tool, a CDP answers the demand for an “analytical CRM” that is able to connect to all of an organization’s data sources.
Data Management Platforms (DMPs) and CDPs both enable organizations to develop a more robust view of the customer. While these two platforms collect and apply customer data to marketing initiatives, they do not have the same purpose. DMPs were originally designed to support advertising use cases. This platform relies on anonymous third-party data or cookies to do precise targeting. Based on this ability, DMPs can greatly help with advertising engagement strategies.
Not that long ago, it was common for marketers to opt for DMPs. However, several specialists question its use due to the continuous evolution of confidentiality rules. Since a CDP unifies and uses all data from internal or external parties to create a 360 profile of customers who have interacted with the brand from different channels, many marketers are successfully improving their DMP campaign through the use of CDPs.
The CDP is a powerful and particularly useful tool for the B2Cs of this world, but, ultimately, there are no quick fixes. Every business has its own set of challenges and specific needs when it comes to customer data management, so getting the right tool can be a real challenge. At GTI, we don’t have any favorites. We always prioritize the tool that our customers truly need. We believe that each of our clients deserves a solution tailored to their specific needs. Do not hesitate to contact us, we are able to help you improve your digital performance.
