For any business, collecting and organizing customer data is crucial to improving their marketing and sales. This data can provide different useful information, such as customer behavior, information about their identity, and more. To use these data effectively for their marketing and customer service, companies need certain platforms that can streamline the process. Customer data platforms (CDPs) and data management platforms (DMPs) are the main solutions that help companies manage client information.

Customer data platform (CDP)
Businesses must understand their clients more personally to create customized experiences and campaigns for their customers. For this, they first need to gather some crucial data about their customers, which can help them better understand their clients on a personal level. This is where customer data platforms, or CDPs, can help them. Such platforms must have a few key features to ensure businesses benefit from them.

• Combines data
  The main and most important feature of any customer data platform is that it helps a business gather every important customer data. The platform uses several sources, such as emails, social media, company websites, etc to collate the information. After this process, the CDP integrates and organizes them into a unified data format. This allows businesses to view all the details about a particular customer in a simple and efficient manner. In simple terms, it will be like the business getting access to view the customer’s profile, containing all necessary information.
  Without this platform, it can become extremely difficult and tedious for businesses to collect and combine customer data from multiple sources manually.

• Updates profiles
  Most customer data platforms have a feature that allows them to update customer profiles in real time. So whenever a particular customer revisits the websites or interacts with the company, the platform can update their behavioral data from that interaction in real time.

• Secures storage for all data
  Customer data platforms also ensure data security. So, all the customer data they collect is stored in layers of encryption, ensuring its safety. The major benefit is that this feature increases customers’ confidence and trust in the business since all clients expect companies to keep their private data secure.

• Integrates with existing technologies
  Ideally, customer data platforms must also have the feature to easily integrate with the existing technologies used by a company. This allows businesses to continue their operations without any hassle or delays.

• No fixed timelines
  One of the best features of a CDP is that it has no fixed timelines for keeping the data. So, whenever a business needs to access the data, it can do so without any issues, regardless of when the data was collected.

Data management platform (DMP)
Besides CDPs, data management platforms, or DMPs, are also useful to businesses for their marketing strategies. DMPs also gather customer data, but not exactly like CDPs. Data management platforms have some features that differentiate them from CDPs.

• Data collection from third-party sources
  CDPs collect data from social media, emails, and similar channels. DMPs, on the other hand, collect customer data from third-party sources, such as website cookies and customers’ online behavior. They are mainly designed for advertising agencies.

• Collection of anonymous data
  Secondly, data management platforms do not collect data about a customer’s identity, like CDPs. Rather, they collect anonymous data, like the customer’s behavior patterns, the devices they use and their IP addresses.

• Short-term data retention
  Another key feature distinguishing DMPs from CDPs is that the data collected by a platform has limited time availability (usually 90 days). So, these platforms are ideal for businesses and agencies that need information about customers for immediate use.

Customer relationship management (CRM)
Apart from CDPs and DMPs, companies also use customer relationship management (CRM) platforms. The main goal of a CRM platform is to help businesses collect and organize data on their existing and prospective customers.

• Records customer interactions
  CRM platforms allow businesses to record interactions with their customers and potential clients through phone calls or online conversations. The platforms also help businesses create transcripts of the conversations to help them understand their customers’ responses.

• Improves customer service
  Companies can significantly improve their customer service by maintaining detailed records of conversations with their clients and prospective customers. They can also note the customers’ purchase history, which allows them to upsell and cross-sell. CRM platforms make it easier for businesses to gain new customers and retain old ones.

• Helps CDPs
  The data collected by CRM platforms, such as customer contact management software, can also be used by CDPs to create customer profiles.

By leveraging these platforms, companies can identify trends, predict consumer behaviors, and manage their audiences more effectively. These solutions also ensure data accuracy and compliance with privacy regulations, promoting trust and loyalty among customers. This empowers companies to create more targeted, efficient, and useful strategies, driving business growth.