Customer Data Platform
April 16, 2024
For the fourth edition of our State of the CDP 2023 report, through an independent firm, we surveyed over 1,200 professionals worldwide in B2B, B2C, and B2B2C industries. The responses have revealed that Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) have proven critical to organizational growth during demanding times, especially as we see a global tightening of the collective purse strings. The data shows that CDPs are helping companies navigate economic or industry challenges, recession-proof the organization, and unlock new opportunities by breaking down internal silos and streamlining customer communications.
Our research finds companies that invest in CDPs vastly outperform those that don’t, and the longer the investment has been in place, the greater the success. In fact, the most experienced CDP users show greater confidence in their decisions, better ability to manage spending, healthier budgets, and, most importantly, a bigger return on their marketing dollars than companies with little or no CDP experience. Having a single, consistent view of customers enables the entire organization to make more focused investments, deliver personalized, relevant customer experiences, and plan with superior accuracy.
And all of these benefits coming out of long-term and short-term CDP usage have led to one definitive truth: CDPs lead to tremendous success across the board.
That doesn’t mean companies that have a CDP aren’t being impacted by the challenges facing companies worldwide, like unstable economies, broken supply chains, and growing regulatory requirements for how companies use customer data. It does mean that companies who use a CDP are better prepared to address all these challenges and have bypassed the major side effects and jet streams being felt by companies without a CDP.
90% Satisfaction with Meeting 2022 Marketing Objectives
The State of the CDP 2023 report also highlights the fact that CDPs have become a game changer. The survey revealed that companies who have adopted a CDP have seen significantly greater success with their marketing efforts over the last year, during a time of global instability and economic uncertainty. A CDP, the State of the CDP 2023 report shows, has become a difference maker, a line in the sand between companies thriving and those struggling in today’s shifting business environment. Companies with a CDP were two times more satisfied with their ability to meet their 2022 marketing objectives (90%) than companies without a CDP (44%).
93% Satisfaction with Creating Relevant Customer Experiences
Customer experience is the new currency, and companies must have a plan for collecting and organizing the data necessary to create relevant experiences, as well as the functionality to activate the data in a meaningful way. Companies with a CDP (93%) are more satisfied with their ability to create relevant customer experiences through their customer data than those without a CDP (49%).
95% Confidence in Ability to Support Current Privacy Requirements
Privacy regulations expanded during 2022 across the globe and will continue to do so in the coming years. In what is being referred to as the Great Privacy Awakening, companies are accepting the new data privacy normal and investing in compliance strategies. CDP users feel more confident in their privacy compliance than those without a CDP, especially when it comes to feeling very prepared. Companies with a CDP are confident in their CDP’s capabilities to help their company comply with current privacy regulations (95%) and feel more prepared to adapt to future regulations (93%) compared to only 67% confidence in companies without a CDP.
73% Increase in Investment in First Party Data
Companies need to establish a first party data strategy now more than ever before. Google has set a 2024 timeline for sunsetting third party cookies on the Chrome browser, and Firefox and Safari have already sunset third party cookies, which represents nearly 40% of global online traffic. Customers also expect companies to use their data appropriately, to respect their privacy, and failing to do so will create a negative customer experience. Our State of the CDP 2023 report found companies with a CDP are investing and spending more on supporting their first party data strategies at almost twice the rate (73%) compared to companies without a CDP (40%).
89% Of Companies Using a CDP Reached ROI in 18 Months or Less
Investing in a CDP not only helps companies to achieve their goals and find stability during unstable times, but it pays off quickly. CDPs deliver value and return on the investment quickly. Three-quarters of respondents realized value in their CDP in less than one year and 89% within the first 18 months.
These success stories only account for a fraction of what was discovered in our fourth edition State of the CDP 2023 report. We also discovered the top use cases for CDPs, the most valuable CDP features, how companies are structuring their teams, the most important skill sets for operating the platform, which marketing priorities and spending projections are being set for 2023, and much more on what makes for a successful CDP implementation.
