Your Customer Data Platform Vendor Comparison Guide

Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) can increase customer sales, improve customer retention, save campaign operation costs, better engage audiences, and fine-tune marketing—to name just a few benefits. In short, a CDP can transform your business like never before.

Choosing the right CDP partner is crucial to activating your customer data potential and transforming it into a rich resource that drives engagement and revenue. Here, we outline ten things that should be on your Customer Data Platform vendor comparison checklist.

Get a 10-Question CDP Vendor Selection Guide

Learn how to select the CDP vendor that’s best for your organization. We explain what you need to ask about everything from the security of your customer data to the AI used to uniquely and accurately segment and target prospects and customers.

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Customer Data Platform Vendor Comparison: 10 Things To Consider

When choosing the right CDP for your company, where do you start? Not only should you consider raw processing power, but also flexibility, ease of integration, scalability, and continued support to help you adapt to a dynamic market landscape. Below are ten questions you should ask when deciding on the best CDP partner.

Track People & Cookies Across All Devices

Question: Does a CDP track both anonymous visitors and known customers across devices?

Answer: CDPs are designed to help you learn from your customer behaviors: from anonymous, to known, to loyal. In your customer data platform vendor comparison, make sure your chosen CDP partner has web and mobile SDKs to collect event data and supports identity-based (email, user names, etc.) and cookie-based (browser cookies, IDFA, etc.) tracking.

All Your Customer Journeys in One Place

Question: Does a CDP offer flexible and ideally unlimited data retention?

Answer: Customer histories help you understand why your campaigns succeed or fail. CDPs should capture and retain data from many sources, no matter how much you scale up.

Integrate Customer Data Across Platforms

Question: Does a CDP integrate with all data sources you need to bring together? How about activation tools like email, digital advertising, push notifications, popular apps, and dashboards?

Answer: CDPs build Master Audience Profiles (MAP) by bringing together data from multiple sources for easy cross-channel campaign management (CCCM). That’s why it’s important to ask each vendor if they integrate the apps and marketing automation platforms you already use, or want to use.

Secure & Compliant

Question: Which security certifications/attestations do CDPs have?

Answer: Your customers trust you with their data and that means security should be a top priority. In your customer data platform vendor comparison, see if they are certified by relevant and authoritative institutions. Also, check whether they are implementing the latest security best practices when handling customer data.

Manage Cross-Channel Campaigns

Question: Do CDPs provide the ability to manage cross-channel campaigns and map them to customer journeys?

Answer: Modern marketers manage cross-device and cross-channel marketing programs. Make sure your CDP has the foundation to support increasingly complex customer journeys.

Reduce or Eliminate IT Dependence

Question: Does a CDP require IT help during the setup, onboarding, or maintenance?

Answer: Your IT team has a lot on their plate. Instead of waiting for them to give you access to the data you need, own and act on your data today. A CDP should help you own and master all customer data without IT.

Flexible Data Management

Question: Can CDPs process all data types and formats that you want to unify? Can they handle the most complex analysis and segments you need in your project?

Answer: Customer data can be messy and understanding customer journeys requires advanced techniques. Make sure you consider these factors in your customer data platform vendor comparison: flexible data unification, segmentation, and profile activation.

AI-Powered

Question: Do CDPs have AI/Machine-learning engines, currently or on the roadmap? How flexible/approachable are they?

Answer: Treasure Data packages the latest AI and machine learning algorithms and brings them to every marketer’s fingertips. Identify your brand advocates at scale and make your recommendations relevant and serendipitous by delivering delightful experiences.

Continued Support For Customer Success

Question: Do they have an onboarding program tailored to your needs? What do they offer beyond the platform?

Answer: Building a CDP is a process. New channels and partnerships emerge every month, and the market landscape is constantly evolving. Your CDP vendor should be a trusted companion who helps you succeed in the long term.

Access Raw & Unfiltered Data

Question: Do CDPs offer access to all raw data for all data types without requiring external data warehouses?

Answer: Average and aggregate stats only tell you ten percent of the story. To uncover key moments in your customer journeys, you need access to raw, unfiltered data. CDPs must support raw data access through GUI, API, or SQL.

Talk With Our Experts

We understand that no two companies operate alike. Our professional services team can help you configure a self-managed solution that meets your budget. We can help answer your questions about customer data platform vendor comparisons. Our highly attentive technical support staff is always on hand whenever you need assistance.

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To learn how to leverage data to improve your customer experience, consult an expert today. Want to learn more? Request a demo, call +1.866.899.5386, or contact us for more information.