The Customer Data Platform (CDP) has established itself as a critical tool for brands in every industry.

As companies have moved to unlock the enormous value of their customer data, the first priority has been to get all that data in order. The CDP provides the answer: one place to collect and manage all your data from across the business – giving your teams a clear and comprehensive understanding of every customer.

The importance of breaking down silos and getting your data organized is as important as it has ever been – and the CDP market continues to boom.

The CDP Institute also reports continuing growth in the industry as companies prepare for a post-pandemic world where the importance of data and digital experience will continue to accelerate.

Against a constantly shifting tech landscape – where trends disappear as quickly as they emerge – it seems the CDP is here to stay.

The evolving demands on the CDP

But CDP providers can’t stand still. As the demands on marketing and product teams have grown to create a competitive advantage with standout digital experiences, so have the demands on the CDP.

Knowing every customer – and understanding their unique wants and needs – is no longer enough. Expectations of the CDP have evolved beyond organizing data to now using that data to create value.

Now a CDP is being asked to do more than just data plumbing. It’s being asked to analyze each customer as an individual. To predict what they might want to see or do next. To make decisions based on previous behaviors or live context. And to engage them across every digital channel – at the right time, with the right message.

On top of these demands for more sophisticated capabilities, companies are also turning to their CDP to consolidate an increasingly complex tech stack. They’ve recognized that combining a CDP with a personalization or experimentation tool can increase both efficiency and effectiveness – and make life a lot more simple in the process.

The Sitecore CDP

The Sitecore CDP is designed to achieve all of this.

It takes the core data management capabilities of a CDP, and layers on top intelligent decisioning, predictive analytics, experimentation, and orchestration.

The result? One tool to unlock the value of your customer data and drive brilliant experiences across every digital channel. It sits at the heart of your tech stack and acts as the "digital brain" – powering data-driven decisioning, experimentation, and orchestration across your whole ecosystem.

Breaking down the Sitecore CDP

To understand the capabilities of the Sitecore CDP, it’s helpful to break down the different components.

  • CDP: data management
    At the heart of the Smart Hub CDP is the CDP itself – breaking down data silos in your organization to connect and organize all your customer data. It enables you to recognize and understand every customer in every moment – giving you the insight required to deliver more relevant and personalized experiences.
  • Smart: decisioning, predictive analytics, and experimentation
    The ‘Smart’ allows you to leverage this data to predict, test, and optimize every customer interaction across every digital channel. By using predictive analytics, decisioning technology and real-time experimentation, a Smart Hub CDP lets you create smarter, data-driven customer interactions at every customer touchpoint.
  • Hub: orchestration
    The ‘Hub’ then allows you to orchestrate these interactions across every digital app, platform and channel. It enables you to deliver the right message, at the right time, in the right place – and create joined-up, omnichannel experiences for all your customers.

To learn more about these different capabilities – and what they deliver in practice – check out our new Quick Guide to the Sitecore CDP.

Data management in a post-pandemic world

It’ll be fascinating to see how the demand for Smart Hub CDPs evolves in 2021 as brands adapt to a post-pandemic world. With focus on digital experience continuing to grow, companies will constantly be searching for new and better ways to drive value from their data. A Smart Hub CDP might just be the best place to start.

The Sitecore CDP is transforming results for some of the world’s biggest brands. Get in touch to learn more about building standout digital experiences for your customers.