Birds of a Feather: Uniting Data with Customer Data Platforms

What is a Customer Data Platform (CDP)? 

Imagine you're running a business, and your customers interact with you in many different ways - they visit your website, follow you on social media, buy things in your store, and contact customer support. Each of these interactions creates valuable information about who your customers are and what they want. But here's the problem: all this information is scattered across different systems and tools, making it nearly impossible to get a complete picture of each customer. 

This is where a Customer Data Platform (CDP) comes to the rescue. At ps Hummingbird, a Microsoft Business Applications partner and subsidiary of Publicis Sapient, we've seen how CDPs can transform the way businesses understand and connect with their customers. Let's break down what CDPs are, how they're different from other tools you might know, and why they're becoming essential for modern businesses. 

Defining a Customer Data Platform 

Think of a Customer Data Platform (CDP) as a smart filing system for all your customer information. Instead of having customer details scattered across different folders, drawers, and offices, a CDP gathers everything into one organized, easily accessible place. 

More specifically, a CDP is software that collects information about your customers from everywhere they interact with your business - your website, social media accounts, email newsletters, physical stores, and more. It then combines all this scattered information to create one complete "customer card" for each person. This gives you a full picture of who they are, what they like, and how they behave, allowing you to treat each customer as the unique individual they are. 

CDP vs. CRM: Understanding the Differences 

You might be wondering, "Don't we already have something like this called CRM?" While Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems and CDPs both deal with customer information, they work differently. 

Think of a CRM like a detailed address book and activity tracker. It's mainly used by your sales and customer service teams to keep track of phone calls, meetings, sales deals, and support tickets. It's great for managing day-to-day customer interactions and relationships. 

A CDP, on the other hand, is like having a combined digital interaction of each customer. While a CRM focuses on direct interactions (like "John called on Tuesday about his order"), a CDP captures everything - including indirect behaviors like "John spent 10 minutes looking at winter coats on our website" or "John opened our email about the sale but didn't click anything." This broader view helps you understand not just what customers say, but what they actually do. 

CDP vs. Marketing Automation Solutions 

Marketing automation tools are like having a very efficient assistant for your marketing tasks. They can automatically send emails, post on social media, and follow up with potential customers. These tools are excellent at executing your marketing plans quickly and consistently. 

However, most marketing automation tools work with limited information - they might know someone's email address and a few basic details, but they don't have the full picture. This is where a CDP becomes incredibly valuable. It provides your marketing automation tools with rich, complete customer profiles, transforming your marketing from generic mass messages to personalized communications that actually resonate with each individual. 

When you combine a CDP with your marketing automation solution, it's like upgrading from sending the same offer to everyone on your list to sending personalized messages that reference each person's interests, recent purchases, and preferences. 

Benefits of Using a CDP like Dynamics 365 Customer Insights 

Microsoft's Dynamics 365 Customer Insights is a powerful CDP solution that can revolutionize how different parts of your organization work with customer data. Here's how it benefits each team: 

• Sales 

  Your sales team will love having access to complete customer stories rather than just basic contact information. Instead of going into a sales call blind, they'll know exactly what products a customer has looked at, what they've purchased before, and what problems they're trying to solve. This knowledge helps them have more meaningful conversations and suggest products or services that customers actually want. It's like having a digital image that shows you the best opportunities to help customers while growing your business. 

  
  

• Service 

  Customer service becomes much smoother when your support team can see a customer's complete history at a glance. Instead of asking customers to repeat their story every time they call, service agents can immediately understand the situation and provide faster, more personalized help. It's the difference between starting from scratch every time versus picking right where you left off in a conversation with a good friend. 

  
  

• Marketing 

  For marketing teams, a CDP like Dynamics 365 Customer Insights is like having a superpower. Instead of guessing what customers might want, you can see exactly what they're interested in based on their actual behavior. This means you can send winter coat promotions to people who have been browsing winter clothing, or special offers on pet supplies to customers who recently bought dog toys. Your marketing becomes less like throwing darts in the dark and more like having targeted, helpful conversations with each customer. 

Ready to transform how your business understands and connects with customers? Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights provides all the CDP capabilities mentioned above in an easy-to-use, scalable platform that grows with your business. And let ps Hummingbird can show you the way.