|
|
You might be using an unsupported or outdated browser. To get the best possible experience please use the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Edge to view this website. |
Reviewed
A customer data platform (CDP) collects data from online and off-line sources and standardizes it to create comprehensive customer profiles. These profiles are then used to build campaigns and customer experiences that attract and retain high-value customers. Forbes Advisor researched the best customer data platforms to help you make the right decision for your needs.
Based on industry experts and user reviews, these leading CDPs are considered the best customer data platforms available today. It’s important to remember, businesses should evaluate each platform based on their specific needs and requirements to find the best fit for their organization.
| Company | Forbes Advisor Rating | Starting price | Single Customer Profile | Automations | LEARN MORE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Segment |  |
5.0 |  |
Free (up to 1,000 monthly visitors); $120 per month (up to 10,000 monthly visitors) | Yes | Yes (onboarding, retargeting, reminders and more) | Learn More | Read Forbes' Review | |
| Emarsys |  |
5.0 | |
Not disclosed, must contact for pricing | Yes | Yes, via a number of channels and triggers | View More | ||
| Optimove |  |
4.9 | |
Not disclosed, must contact for pricing | Yes | Yes, multichannel campaigns | View More | ||
| FirstHive |  |
4.9 | |
Not disclosed | Yes | Yes, including predictive recommendations | View More | ||
| Lytics |  |
4.8 | |
Not disclosed | Yes | Yes | View More | ||
| BlueConic |  |
4.7 |  |
Not disclosed | Yes | Yes | View More | ||
| ActionIQ |  |
4.7 | |
Not disclosed | Yes | Yes, including omnichannel customer journeys | View More | ||
| Bloomreach Engagement |  |
4.4 | |
Not disclosed | Yes | Yes, Marketing Automation | View More | ||
| Totango |  |
4.3 | |
$2,988 (with annual contract) | Yes, single 360 customer view | Yes | View More |
A customer data platform is a software that collects and organizes customer data from various channels and sources, such as CRM systems, marketing automations tools, e-commerce platforms, social media and email channels, websites and more. The platform collects data from these sources and creates a unified customer profile that can be accessed and used by marketing, sales and customer service teams.
Three main types of customer data include, behavioral, demographic and transactional. This data is collected and used to analyze customer behavior, helping to gain insights on what the customer is doing and what the customer needs, allowing for a more personalized and targeted experience. Customer data platforms often are used by businesses that have large amounts of customer data and need a centralized platform to manage it effectively.
There are several benefits that businesses can gain from using a customer data platform (CDP), including the following:
Overall, a customer data platform can greatly help businesses to gain a better understanding of their customers, improve customer engagement and drive revenue growth.
Choosing the best customer data platform for your business can feel like an overwhelming task, especially with an array of options on the market. Here are some guidelines to help you make the right choice.
Many CDPs do not list prices publicly. You must visit their website and follow their instructions to request a custom quote. As you do, remember that not all features are included in the core plans. Some are only available as add-ons. So, make a prioritized list of the features and tools you need and be sure to ask what add-ons are available to complete your list and their added cost.
Different CDPs offer the ability to integrate a unique list of tools and platforms. This means that some of the platforms your company uses to house customer data (your CRM, for example) may not be able to be integrated with all CDPs. Make a list of the key platforms, data sources and tools you need to integrate with your CDP and be sure to give that list to the CDP provider to ensure your integration needs will be met.
Some CDPs will go over your company’s use cases to determine your business goals with your customer data. They will then ensure that those goals can be met with the software they offer you. To prepare, preliminarily bring together all of your key stakeholders who are likely to use your CDP and make a list of their goals, then prioritize them from critical to nice-to-have. Also consider best practices, such as how your data should be protected by your chosen CDP.
Once you have a few CDP providers that align with your business needs, it’s time to formalize your selection. Look for customer reviews to help narrow down the best provider for you. Then, to confirm your decision, reach out and schedule a meeting to start a conversation between your chosen CDP provider and your key stakeholders.
Here are some essential features to consider when choosing a good CDP platform:
A well-designed CDP platform should seamlessly integrate with a company’s larger tech stack, making it an ideal choice for businesses that want to incorporate top-notch solutions into their data management platform. This allows for easy swapping of apps as needed. Let’s take a look at some of the most important integration considerations when choosing the best customer data platform.
It’s important to recognize that although a customer data platform has its advantages, it also requires a long-term commitment as it becomes deeply integrated into your digital ecosystem.
It’s crucial that customers, especially those with limited knowledge or technical expertise, understand what they are committing to and how to derive value from it. Let’s take a look at some important questions stakeholders should ask vendors before signing on:
By taking these additional factors into consideration, you can confidently choose a CDP that can provide long-term value to your businesses and support your growth and success.
The cost of a customer data platform can vary depending on several factors, such as the size of your business, the number of profiles that need to be managed, the level of complexity of your data and the features and functionality you require. Some CDPs charge based on the number of customer profiles or records, while others charge based on the volume of data or data processing.
Some CDPs also offer free plans—this is ideal for organizations just getting started but free plans usually have a limited number of visitors and records per month. Many also offer a free trial allowing you to test the platform before committing to a paid plan.
Entry-level pricing can range from $120 a month to $1,500 per month to hundreds of thousands of dollars per year for tailor-made offers. Pricing depends on the provider and the features and services needed. Platforms that target mid-market to large companies often have higher price structures due to license costs, a more experienced sales team and dedicated customer success managers.
There are many variables to consider when it comes to cost:
It’s also important to note, the cost of a CDP should be viewed as an investment in your business. It’s also essential to factor in the potential return on investment (ROI) that you could achieve by using the platform, which can ultimately justify the investment in a CDP.
We collected and evaluated customer data platforms (CDPs) based upon five criteria: pricing, general features, additional features, ratings and reviews, and expert score. Here is a closer look at each of these criteria and how they were used to create this best-of list.
When evaluating customer data platforms (CDPs), pricing is an essential factor to consider. As part of the evaluation process, pricing was scored based on the availability of a free trial, free version and public transparency of pricing. This factor accounted for 10% of the total weighted score.
We evaluated CDPs based on general features so that businesses could choose a platform that meets specific needs and requirements. These features included the ability to create and execute targeted email and online marketing campaigns, manage leads, optimize your website, create a single unified view of each customer and compatibility with multiple devices. General features accounted for 30% of the total score.
Along with general features, the evaluation process of customer data platforms also includes additional features. These features have the ability to improve marketing efforts and drive revenue growth. Additional features we took into consideration included the ability to track and analyze key marketing metrics, predictive modeling, personalized product recommendations, campaign/timeline management and ROI tracking. These additional features accounted for 20% of the total score.
A high number of ratings and reviews indicate that the platform has been widely used and tested by a large number of businesses. We determined the scoring based on the number of reviews as well as platforms with an average rating of 3.5 or higher. This factor accounted for 10% of the total score.
We also evaluated the platform based on specific criteria such as any additional standout features or unique capabilities, the value of money, how it compares to competitors, how widely used it is within the industry and how user-friendly and intuitive the platform is. Our expert scoring accounted for 30% of the total score.
A customer data platform unifies data from multiple tools (or sources), creating a single source of truth around customer behaviors and interactions across all brand touchpoints. This data is then made available to marketing teams to be used for the creation of highly targeted ad and marketing campaigns.
Examples of customer data platforms include Twilio Segment, ActionIQ, BlueConic, Lytics and FirstHive. All of them aggregate customer data from multiple sources to create one source of truth in the form of customer profiles.
Both CDPs and CRMs collect data on customers to create single and complete customer profiles. However, while a CDP uses behavioral and interactional customer data to help marketers create highly personalized ad and marketing campaigns across channels, a CRM’s data is used by sales teams to track and manage customer-facing interactions, such as customer support tickets and upsells.
After you have selected the best customer data platform for your business, it is essential to identify which teams in your organization will be responsible for the setup process. These teams must include the CDP implementation in their product management road map and test the data to ensure its accuracy and effectiveness.
In most cases, marketing teams will not have the necessary expertise to set up a CDP independently. Therefore, it is recommended to work with a marketing operations team. If available, tech or data teams should take on the responsibility of the setup process.
