CDPs are failing the marketing exec. Here’s why.
July 19, 2019
By 2023, Customer Data Platforms will be worth $3.3 billion.
They’re the top technology being implemented by Enterprise companies right now. And in the US alone, audience data activation investment reached $10.1 billion in 2017.
Which is why it might surprise some to learn that 87% of marketers still say data is their company’s most underutilized asset. For many, the promises of CDPs and first-party data aren’t coming true. And marketers are, understandably, frustrated.
And so the question looms: Why?
In the same world where Amazon’s data-driven personalization engine generates 35% of their sales, why are so many companies not seeing the data-driven results they crave?
In the same world where CDP use is growing exponentially and 40% of marketers plan to increase their data budgets, why are so many companies still struggling to get their data under control?
Why, in other words, are CDPs failing the marketing exec?
3 reasons CDPs are failing marketing execs
Our CEO and co-founder, James McDermott, tackled this very question on MarTech Advisor this June.
His three core reasons that CDPs aren’t living up to the hype?
1. CDPs are still evolving, and marketers are confused about what the technology really is.
In James’ words from the article: “If a marketing executive ends up with a CDP designed to solve an IT problem—not marketing problems—that partnership is already set up to fail.”
2. CDPs are trying to solve data problems…but what we need them to solve are marketing problems.
As James explains, “Data isn’t what’s keeping marketers up at night…We need data because we need customer insights.”
3. CDPs are seen as data platforms—and too often selected based on IT criteria and not marketing use cases.
As the article outlines, “Too often, because of this misunderstanding, marketers leave customer data platform selection to IT. But, though IT should be involved in the process…they can’t vet your CDP for marketing use cases.”
Fail-proofing your CDP strategy
At the end of the day, CDP projects don’t have to fail. Some CDPs are solving real marketing problems. Data is a foundational to marketing success. And there’s a reason companies like Airbnb, Netflix, and Spotify, with their strong data-driven personalization strategies, are undisputed market leaders.
The key to a successful CDP selection and implementation, according to James, lies in staying grounded in the problems you set out to solve. As he says in the article, “Without…marketing-focused questions, it’s likely marketers will end up with a solution that wasn’t designed for them.”
To dig deeper into James’ three reasons and the solution, check out the full article at MarTech Advisor. Or talk to one of our experts. We’d be more than happy to talk about strategy, data, and solving your specific marketing challenges.
