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A customer data platform (CDP) is a software system designed to collect, organize, and analyze customer data from various sources, such as web analytics, CRM systems, social media, and other channels. The primary goal of a CDP is to provide a unified view of the customer, allowing businesses to personalize their marketing efforts, improve customer engagement, and increase conversions.

To get the most benefit from it, your CDP should have the following features:

  1. Data Integration: An optimal CDP should be able to integrate data from various sources. Examples include web analytics, CRM systems, email marketing tools, social media platforms, and other channels. The system should be able to extract data from these sources, transform and map the data, and load it into the CDP’s database. The integration should be seamless and automatic, with little or no manual intervention required.
  2. Data Cleansing: The data collected from various sources can be messy and inconsistent. A well-architected CDP should have a data cleansing feature that can clean and standardize the data, remove duplicates, and correct errors. The data should be normalized and organized in a way that makes it easy to analyze.
  3. Data Storage: Ensure that your CDP has a scalable and secure database to store customer data. The database should be able to handle large volumes of data and be able to grow as the business grows. The database should be secure, with access controls, data encryption, and other security measures in place to protect customer data.
  4. Data Analytics: An optimal CDP should have powerful analytics capabilities to help businesses gain insights into customer behavior and preferences. The analytics features should include segmentation, cohort analysis, predictive modeling, and other tools to help businesses understand their customers better. The analytics should be flexible and customizable, allowing businesses to create their own reports and dashboards.
  5. Personalization: Your platform should enable your business to personalize marketing efforts based on customer data. The system should be able to create personalized messages, offers, and content for each customer based on their behavior and preferences. Ideally, this personalization will occur in real-time, with the system able to adapt to changes in customer behavior as it occurs.
  6. Integration with Other Systems: Ensure that your CDP can integrate with other systems, such as marketing automation tools, content management systems, and e-commerce platforms. The integration should be seamless, with data flowing between systems automatically, and without the need for manual intervention.
  7. Accessibility: An optimal CDP should be accessible to all stakeholders in the business, from marketing and sales to customer service and product development. A user-friendly interface will make it easy to navigate and understand to non-technical team members. In addition, it should be accessible from anywhere, allowing users to access customer data from any device, anywhere in the world.
  8. Customization: An optimal CDP should be customizable, allowing businesses to tailor the system to their specific needs. The needs of a SaaS business will differ greatly from an ecommerce retailer, which will differ greatly from a bank or a law firm. The system should allow businesses to create their own data fields, set up custom reports and dashboards, and create custom workflows.
  9. Scalability: An optimal CDP should be able to scale as the business grows. The system should be able to handle increasing volumes of data and support a growing number of users. The system should also be able to integrate with new data sources and new systems as the business expands.

CEI has a long history of successfully building and implementing CDPs for clients, built on both Microsoft and AWS technology. Learn more about our data platform expertise at the links below:

The optimal customer data platform collects, organizes, and analyzes customer data from disparate data sources, provides a unified view of the customer, and enables businesses to personalize their sales and marketing efforts. The system should be scalable, secure, and customizable, and should be accessible to all stakeholders in the business. With these features in place, businesses can gain valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences and improve their marketing efforts to increase customer engagement and conversions.