Customer Data Platform (CDP)

A customer data platform (CDP) collects first-party data and personally identifiable information (PII) (name, email address, etc.) to enhance marketing communications. It allows companies to build detailed profiles of their existing customers and can be used to track customer engagement metrics such as conversion rates and customer retention.

CDPs are different to data management platforms (DMPs), although the distinction is becoming increasingly blurred as technology and data privacy laws evolve. Generally speaking, CDPs focus on marketing, using detailed data to inform communications with a smaller number of ‘known’ customers, while data management platforms (DMPs) focus on advertising (including programmatic advertising), using third-party data to target a wider range of ‘unknown’ customers.