Ready to try a CDP? Here are some things to consider.
Ready to try a CDP? Here are some things to consider.The key to selecting the right CDP for your business is to evaluate vendors based on use cases, not on capabilities. Since most vendors already check most boxes (i.e., capabilities)—from customer 360 to data activation—the issue is that vendors do not perform all of them at a high level, often leading to buyer regret. Defining specific use cases across your ingestion, analytics, segmentation, triggering, and activation stages will help discern which vendors meet your level of sophistication.
Also consider factors like your data maturity. Milestones like already-unified data, already-clean data, deduplicated identities, and the presence of a marketing ops team make a big difference in which vendor is right for you. Not everyone is ready for an enterprise-class CDP on day one. Instead, they’re often better suited for ease and simplicity (e.g., prebuilt models and insight dashboards) over sophisticated functionality.
Existing technologies within your tech stack remain a critical factor. Are you using technologies from multiple vendors or are you primarily using technologies from a single vendor? Do you have needs for sophisticated identity resolution, and which vendor is fulfilling those needs today? Do you leverage a journey orchestration tool? The list goes on and on, but it’s critical to consider the entire ecosystem instead of running the risk of duplicating or missing capabilities across it.
Lastly, your CDP budget needs to be aligned with two factors—the use cases you’re trying to achieve and the resources you have available to fulfill them. If your organization is mismatched between wanting to provide premier customer experiences, but your budget is minimal and your resources are absent, a CDP is doomed to fail. Think cohesively across them to ensure success.
