Deepen customer understanding through marketing analytics with a CDP. Why personalized marketing initiatives become achievable.

When conducting marketing analytics, how to aggregate and centralize information is a critical challenge. This is where Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) are gaining attention as tools for collecting and analyzing customer data, with adoption progressing across various companies. This time, we'll first explain what a CDP is, starting with the basics and including specific use cases. We'll also look at key points for leveraging CDPs to deepen customer understanding and connect it to more effective marketing initiatives.

What is a CDP, the cornerstone of marketing analytics?

Data analytics now plays a vital role across all businesses, and the marketing field is no exception. In marketing analytics, companies use diverse data to understand market needs and analyze user profiles. This requires consolidating and organizing fragmented data collected from various touchpoints, such as physical stores and online channels. Consequently, more companies are adopting CDPs as platforms to efficiently gather, integrate, and analyze this data.

CDP stands for "Customer Data Platform," referring to a system that collects, integrates, and manages customer data. A CDP enables the consolidation and storage of diverse customer data in one place, including "past purchase history," "demographic data such as age and gender," and "behavioral data on websites." Traditionally, many companies managed and operated purchase data, website access data, survey data, and other information using separate tools. Utilizing a CDP enables the consolidation of this data, allowing for more detailed analysis to be conducted efficiently.

Furthermore, CDPs can integrate with various other systems, such as marketing automation (MA) tools, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and internal company systems. This enables the centralized management of diverse data types.

DMPs differ in data collection methods and purposes

A term similar to CDP is "DMP (Data Management Platform)." The difference lies in how data is collected and its intended use. A CDP is fundamentally a platform that collects and integrates customer data owned by the company itself, linking detailed data such as age, date of birth, and purchase history to customer IDs for management. This enables analysis focused on each individual customer, helping to deepen customer understanding.

On the other hand, a DMP (also called a Public DMP or Open DMP) collects user behavior history and attributes from websites other than the company's own and holds this data anonymously. While it cannot provide detailed analysis per individual customer, it is used for purposes like delivering targeted ads based on visit history and attributes from other sites. Note that some DMPs, like CDPs, utilize customer data collected by the company itself and are called "Private DMPs." However, these are generally treated as synonymous with CDPs.

Both CDPs and DMPs are effective tools for marketing analytics. However, if the goal is to deepen customer understanding and develop more personalized marketing strategies, a CDP is generally the more suitable choice.

CDPs help improve customer satisfaction and build long-term relationships

So, let's consider specifically how CDPs can deliver results in marketing analytics.

For example, in automotive sales, there are various touchpoints with users: information dissemination via the company website or ads, inquiries by phone or email, test drives and negotiations at physical stores, etc. Data about users can be collected from each of these points. However, it's often the case that these are managed and operated separately. This makes it difficult to accurately grasp and accumulate data on the actions a user took from initial information gathering through negotiations to closing the deal.

Utilizing a CDP enables the integration and analysis of multiple data sources, such as website access data and in-store survey responses. This allows for identifying high-potential prospects and implementing more effective approaches, like sending targeted offers via email. Furthermore, by announcing maintenance, part replacements, or new car upgrades at the optimal time based on the customer's purchase history, it becomes possible to build strong, long-term relationships.

Similarly, industries like apparel also approach users through various channels—including physical store sales, e-commerce sites, social media, and app-based coupon distribution—making CDPs valuable for data integration and analysis. For multi-brand companies, CDPs simplify understanding and analyzing the behavior of customers who purchase products across different brands.

The key point in implementing a CDP is selecting a solution that fits your company's business and environment.

Finally, let's look at key points for connecting CDPs to effective marketing strategies.

Point 1: Confirm what data you want to collect and utilize

First, it's crucial to clarify your objectives for implementing the CDP and then collect the corresponding data. For example, if your goal is to increase the average transaction value of existing customers, you'll likely need to analyze their detailed purchase history and website behavior to implement more personalized strategies. On the other hand, if you want to use CDP data to improve products or services, you might need to combine it with data like in-store sales performance or survey responses to analyze current challenges from a broader perspective. In any case, deepening customer understanding and leveraging it for marketing initiatives that align with your company's goals is crucial.

Point 2: Consider which tools you want to integrate with and how you want to perform data analysis

CDPs enable more appropriate analysis when integrated with other platforms or internal systems. Therefore, always verify which tools the planned CDP supports and whether integration with existing internal systems is possible. Choosing a solution compatible with existing systems and tools ensures smoother operations.

Point 3: Select a solution suited to your business

While various CDP solutions are offered by different companies, the data you should focus on and the features you need vary depending on the products or services you handle. Therefore, it is crucial to select one suited to your industry and the characteristics of your business. In fact, packaged solutions tailored to specific industries are also available. Choosing one that fits your company will reduce the effort required for customization during implementation, enabling faster deployment and operation.

In digital-age marketing, the ability to perform marketing analytics effectively is a critical factor. This is why CDP solutions, which centralize and effectively utilize customer data, are gaining attention. While used across diverse industries like apparel and banking, their common purpose is "to gain a deeper understanding of customers." To deepen your understanding of customers and further expand your business, why not consider leveraging a CDP?