CDPs Need an Upgrade: New Study Shows Marketers Expect CDPs to Move Beyond Data Aggregation to Omnichannel Activation

A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Zeta Global (NYSE: ZETA), a cloud-based marketing technology company that empowers enterprises to acquire, grow, and retain customers, found that the majority of Customer Data Platform (CDP) users believe today’s CDP solutions fall short of expectations and capabilities. They are seeking a more robust CDP that spans data aggregation and management, as well as execution of critical marketing functions, like personalization and omnichannel activation.

“We believe that marketers today have a need for an upgraded CDP that can go beyond data management and also activate across all channels, generate insights, and measure results – comparable to integrating a modern marketing cloud.”

According to the study, while 66% of respondents believe that adoption of CDPs is a strategic priority or important initiative for their organization, only 10% of CDP users today feel the product meets all needs. That number significantly drops to 1% who believe their current CDP answers future requirements. While data management is important, marketers also cite the need to analyze data, derive insights, personalize messaging, tailor campaign strategies, measure performance, and activate the data across all marketing channels. Moreover, over half of respondents experience technical challenges with their CDP, and need further integration, implementation, and execution expertise from their vendor.

“While first generation CDPs provided marketers with the ability to manage, enrich, store, and access their first-party customer data, the increasing complexity of today’s marketing landscape has revealed large and growing gaps between users’ needs and current CDP functionality,” said Christian Monberg, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Product at Zeta Global. “We believe that marketers today have a need for an upgraded CDP that can go beyond data management and also activate across all channels, generate insights, and measure results – comparable to integrating a modern marketing cloud.”

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This study confirms that to meet top strategic goals, CDPs need integrated capabilities that unify customer data management with marketing execution capabilities, such as personalization, unified dashboarding, real-time data processing. The study also underscores the importance of CDPs generating top-level results such as higher revenue, improved customer acquisition, retention, and satisfaction, more personalized interactions, increased trust from customers,

This Opportunity Snapshot was commissioned by Zeta. To create this profile, Forrester Consulting supplemented this research with custom survey questions asked of 313 CDP users and decision-makers in marketing, IT, and customer experience in the US. The custom survey began and was completed in January 2022.