The CDP market is notoriously diverse. The sub-segment for B2B is no exception. Recently, we’ve seen a divergence with specialist B2B CDPs that offer capabilities traditionally handled in point solutions or ABM platforms and traditional CDPs focusing on data platform capabilities powering tech horizontally across the enterprise. There are many factors to consider when picking the right tool.
In the B2B space, in addition to the traditional stalwarts, specialist vendors focusing more on sales/marketing enablement and ABM capabilities have emerged.
Forrester’s B2B CDP New Tech report breaks down the difference between “Embedded” CDPs (focused more narrowly on B2B sales execution) and Standalone B2B CDPs (more focused on integrating across the enterprise).
In many ways we’re seeing a bifurcation of the market between best-of-breed CDP solutions and more all-in-one ABM solutions that feature some CDP features. Throw in the fact that many standalone solutions are part of a larger cloud offering, and there are some significant considerations for companies looking to leverage CDPs in their business workflow.
Each type of B2B CDP is positioned differently. Let’s look at 3 groups – (1) Embedded CDPs in ABM Platforms, (2) Independent Standalone B2B CDPs, and (3) Standalone CDPs as part of a larger cloud or suite of tools.
Forrester highlights (1) the benefit of Data Unification, (2) CDPs being likely to flourish, and (3) the importance of data management in light of the rise of AI as significant considerations for B2B companies looking into upping their data management capabilities. Simply put, CDPs represent the next wave of critical data capabilities supporting CX and those companies that do not adopt CDP capabilities will increasingly find themselves unable to deliver experiences that stand out.
Ask yourself these questions:
The decision largely comes down to flexibility supporting the right use cases, customization requirements to your specific business, and your time horizon.
Do you need less flexibility, less customization and have a short time horizon? An Embedded B2B CDP is probably right for you.
Do you need more flexibility, want to customize to your CX strategy and want your foundation to last for a longer time horizon? A Standalone B2B CDP probably is the choice, preferably independent.
There are many cases where companies might want both an embedded and a standalone as well. The embedded tool could be a best-in-breed ABM platform and the standalone independent can connect the dots to the rest of the enterprise for use cases like customer service, support, product onboarding, customer experience through the lifecycle, etc.
The B2C-ification of B2B isn’t likely to end anytime soon even with some companies taking ABM-centric approaches. At the end of the day it’s important that B2B companies treat their prospects and customers as individuals, not as just part of a target account. Make sure you have a solution in place that lets you speak to the person like a person with unique desires, feelings, goals and not just a cog in the target account.
If you’d like to see how Tealium fits the bill, we’d love to talk. We can help separate fact from fiction and provide insights into any unique situation (with customer data, they all are!). Let us put our experience providing CDP solutions since before the CDP category even existed to work for you!