Do you have an optimal overview of all customer data? Can you find out with a few clicks which customer bought what, when and where? How long was the decision-making process up to that point? Did your marketing campaign have anything to do with the purchase?
For example, if a customer buys a product with a serial number in a store and creates a customer profile, he can store this serial number there. The Customer Data Platform (hereafter CDP) correlates the location and the date on which the product was purchased and assigns this data to the user.
In this way, it is possible to track on which day this customer was where and what he bought. In addition, all other online transactions that the customer makes on the company website are documented. Even weak identifiers are correlated, such as the IP address or browser fingerprint, and assigned to a transaction. Customers can thus be identified and brought together with all related information in one place without redundancies.
What is a Customer Data Platform?
Ideally, all customer-related data is collected in one system, visualized and provides a good overview. Unfortunately, however, the reality often looks like this: The data is unstructured and available in different systems. Creating customer profiles is difficult and making statements about customer needs is almost impossible. That’s why smart people discovered the added value of a CDP and created this software. This way, a personalized customer experience is no longer just pie in the sky.
A CDP is a platform for exchanging relevant data between different systems. CDP is not a source system and does not produce its own data, but collects customer data from multiple platforms and brings it together in one place. This allows the entire customer lifecycle to be visualized and overviewed in one place. This is a gain for marketing in particular, because it provides a 360-degree view of all customer data. A CDP helps to define and achieve the business goal.
What are the benefits of a Customer Data Platform?
A CDP collects customer data automatically. This means that the data is automatically referenced from the connected customer-related systems and no data has to be entered manually. The customer data is managed and processed in the CDP and merged into a permanent, uniform customer profile. CDP is tailored to the needs of marketers. After a short training period, it can be used by the marketing team without being permanently dependent on IT.
Customer identification
A CDP merges customer data using customer identifiers. These can be unique identifiers from different systems, e.g. an email address or a customer number from the CRM, or weak identifiers such as IP addresses and other metadata. This background information is correlated to create a unique user profile. Different customer data can thus usually be uniquely assigned to one customer.
Customer behaviour
In addition, data on customer behaviour is collected. This data is particularly useful for analysing how customers interact with the company. By monitoring transactions and online interactions, you can track what customers buy, what they return, and when they abandon a purchase. If you already have a web analytics tool to securely collect and analyse data, you can link the profiles there to the customer in CDP. You can create analytics on buying behaviour and time spent on the website. Or how long a customer looks at something before buying it.
Customer profiles
The CDP provides all important data on customer profiles. For example, information is collected on the reason for purchase and how the customer would rate the product. From this, conclusions can be drawn about customer satisfaction in general and about the product.
Very personal data about the customer is also collected. Customer demographic information and data on customer behaviour, including hobbies and job type, are captured. Of course, only after the customer’s consent. The EU Data Protection Regulation (DSGVO/GDPR) must be observed and followed. SAP CDP helps you collect this customer information in compliance with the EU Data Protection Regulation.
Why SAP Customer Data Platform?
SAP CDP is a software-as-a-service solution provided via the cloud. It collects customer data from various data sources and analyses it in real time. From this, a constantly evolving, unified customer profile and a comprehensive picture of customer interactions is created. This customer profile can then be used to derive the best way to address customers in a personalized manner. The tracks are therefore set for a good customer relationship and the fulfilment of customer wishes. And, of course, for higher sales 😉.
You can also find more information about SAP CDP here.
Data exchange with SAP CDP
The data sources are connected to SAP CDP by means of connectors. This makes it easy to connect to SAP Customer Experience products, Hybris, Marking Cloud, Sales & Service Cloud and the Customer Data Cloud (Gigya). Data from systems not officially supported can be imported via generic connectors (SFTP, AWSS/Google/Azure Cloud Storage) or SAP Cloud Integration. Additional SAP products and third-party systems will be connected with each release. So, a good integration is possible with SAP CDP.
SAP CDP combines online and offline data and is push- and pull-capable. Data from connected systems is automatically loaded into SAP CDP and can be evaluated and visualized there. Data can also be transferred from SAP CDP to connected systems. For example, if you want to add a relevant customer group to a marketing campaign, you can simply push it from SAP CDP to SAP Marketing Cloud. Using SAP CDP, it is possible to connect all types of customer data from different sources. Regardless of whether they come from internal or external sources. This creates a comprehensive overview and a unified picture.
Take data protection seriously
There is one important point you need to keep in mind. If you operate a CDP and collect customer data, you are also responsible for this data. Handling sensitive personal data is subject to a number of risks. Data protection and security must be guaranteed, because misuse of customer data can lead to a loss of trust among customers and damage the image in the long term.
SAP CDP helps you to comply with the EU Data Protection Regulation (DSGVO/GDPR). The data is only used for the intended purpose. SAP CDP can evaluate consent forms that have been captured, for example, by Customer Identity Management (CIAM) or a consent management system, and process them in accordance with the customer’s consent.. All first, second- and third-party data is mapped.
Added value of SAP CDP
By using SAP CDP, sales can be increased because it helps to uncover hidden business opportunities. In addition, a faster customer acquisition can be led and a stronger customer relationship, as well as higher customer loyalty can be achieved. SAP CDP clearly analyses and displays at which time, on which channel and with which message a customer can be optimally reached. This improves the customer’s trust in the company and reduces compliance risks.
In addition to digital channels, SAP CDP addresses the following areas: Application scenarios around retail, service, distribution and physical stores. It seamlessly connects the front & back office to provide a cross-departmental solution.
But do you really need SAP CDP? The trend is toward more data from a growing number of systems. Keeping track of the increasing amount of data and ensuring data security is becoming more and more difficult. Nobody wants to have useless data silos…
So, if you’re wondering whether SAP CDP is for you, we’ll be happy to help you think about it. Have you already decided and want more information about SAP CDP or do you need help with the integration? We are here for you!
Here you can find a small demo of the SAP CDP:
