5 CDP Questions to Consider In 2019

If you are thinking about implementing a customer data platform in your MarTech stack, here are five questions for you to consider this year.

We have come a long way since David Raab (Founder of CDP Institute) coined the term Customer Data Platform (CDP)Opens a new window back in 2013. Many organizations are now realizing the importance of a CDP and taking the appropriate measures towards adopting it. If you are contemplating whether to go in for a CDP, here are five questions for you to consider in 2019.

1. How to Evaluate Your CDP Readiness?

As customer touchpoints continue to grow, the marketing ecosystem continues to become more and more complex. **Marketing has evolved into a data-driven activity where if you are not able to make sense of the massive volume of data, you are already on the losing end.**

A CDP in such cases can help you by providing a composite picture of your individual customers and make better decisions.

But before you decide to opt for a CDP, Omer Artun (CEO and Founder of AgilOne) encourages marketing leaders to answer the following questionsOpens a new window :

1. Do you have a well-established method to capture customer dataOpens a new window (including customer profile data, transaction data, and interaction data) from both an operational and legal perspective?
2. Do you have the right staff, who can understand how to leverage a CDP for segmentation, analytics, advertising, and customer experience use cases?
3. Do you have the clarity, execution, and metrics in place?
    

Also Read: Defining Customer Data Platform Use-Cases and Outcomes for CDP SuccessOpens a new window

2. How to Build a Business Case to Invest in a CDP?

Before you buckle up and start looking for CDP vendors, it is necessary to convince management to invest in a CDP. To successfully do so, you need to build a business case that conveys the importance and benefits of a CDP for your organization so that C-level executives are willing to invest over $100k.

Chitra Iyer (Editor-in-chief, Ziff Davis B2B)Opens a new window poses six essential questions to help you build a compelling business case:

1. What will success look like?
2. What are the current hindrances that are stopping us from getting there?
3. How will a CDP help us get there?
4. What is the expected Return on Investments (ROI) of the CDP?
5. What are the risks of not addressing existing obstacles?
6. What are the operational requirements and by when can we get started?

3. How to Choose the Right CDP Vendor?

**Choosing the right CDP vendor is essential because, first of all, investing in a CDP incurs a significant expenditure and since it will host all of the customer data, it is not an easily reversible decision.** Marketers need to take into account the product features, integrations, data gathering and treatment, support, security, user-friendliness, and most importantly costs.

Of course, choosing the right vendor is a daunting process, and therefore we have prepared a nifty resource to make it relatively easy for you: Choosing the Right CDP VendorOpens a new window .

Also Read: How Customer Data Platforms are Powering Modern Measurement for B2C BrandsOpens a new window

4. How to Start Off on the Right Foot?

**Selecting a CDP vendor is just the beginning. Implementing a CDP is a mammoth task that requires deliberate planning and timely deployment.** There are various factors such as company size, industry, data sources, business model, compliances, security requirements, etc. that decide the time required to deploy a CDP.

MarTech Advisor got in touch with several CDP experts to get their inputs on CDP deployment best practices, timelines, and models/approaches. Read the article hereOpens a new window .

5. How to Measure the ROI of the CDP?

Evaluating the ROI of a CDP is a complex matter as CDP as a tool that is yet to reach maturity. Another reason behind this is that it depends on your business, the industry, how you use the CDP and so on.

MarTech Advisor discussed this with industry experts and identified four ways to measure the ROI of a CDPOpens a new window :

1. Outcome Led: Data, marketing, compliance, efficiency outcomes
2. Use Case Led: Average order value, repeat purchases, CLV, renewal rates, etc.
3. Industry/Business-Led: Specific to industries and businesses
4. Business Maturity Led: Marketing metrics, efficiency metrics and capability binary metrics
    

Also Read: 5 Smart Ways to Capture B2B Customer DataOpens a new window

Conclusion

Answering these five questions will help you make the right decision when it comes to choosing a CDP and strategizing the rest of the marketing course accordingly.

MarTech Advisor along with Tealium is hosting a webinar on ‘Defining CDP Success with 5 Must-have Use-Cases for Enterprises’. Reserve your spot for the webinar by registering hereOpens a new window .

Want to know more about CDP? Ask us on TwitterOpens a new window or LinkedInOpens a new window or FacebookOpens a new window !