The State of CDPs: 2020 and Beyond

Blueshift

| January 9, 2020

CDPs were the technology darlings of 2018 and 2019, and it seems as if they’re poised to continue their reign into 2020. Rather than slowing down, the CDP market has exploded. And everyone from the smallest startups to the largest marketing clouds want a piece of the action.

As businesses, and more specifically marketing, enters a new decade there are bound to be a few shake ups and changes in needs. Blueshift founder and CEO, Vijay Chittoor describes the paradigm shift that is already happening, but is bound to speed up in the coming decade,“The next leap forward will be to put AI in the driver’s seat for launching and managing campaigns.

Today that involves a lot of button clicking and time intensive labor on the part of marketers who should be spending their time developing more sophisticated creative. When AI is able to take over that function, marketers get to go back to what they were trained to do: the art of storytelling.”

CDPS ARE HERE TO STAY

Though CDPs came to fruition in the latter half of the twenty-teens, they can and will survive the current shift in marketing trends, because they have enabled these changes. Gone are the days of broadcasting and PR spin for the masses a la Bernays. We’re entering a new era in which non-conformity and individualism are more and more valued. So why would marketing stay one-size-fits-all? The companies that will survive well into the 21st century are the ones that shift to become people-addressable.

CDPs are the central tech piece feuling the transition from more traditional channel-centric marketing to customer centric marketing. In MarTechAdvisor’s article, Top CDPs for 2020 and Beyond, they outline why a CDP will become a staple for all marketers:

Increasing complexity of marketing as a whole; from the amount of data and channels being used, to heightened customer expectations, etc.
Increasing regulation, compliance issues, and privacy demands that inhibit what data you can use, and how you can use it. Additionally, 3rd party data is growing less accurate, so making the most of 1st party data has become a top priority.
Increasing need for marketers to use data more strategically, and avoid data being stuck in unusable silos or pockets.

WHAT DOES THE CDP OF THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE?

While CDPs have cemented themselves as a core component of the 20’s martech stack, not all platforms are created equal — and some will not stand the test of time. MarTechAdvisor lists 10 CDPs that will dominate 2020, but most of these platforms are lacking something essential. Data Activation. What good is tons of customer data, even in one central location, if there’s nothing to do with it and no way to understand it? Blueshift’s Customer Data Activation Platform is the first-of-its-kind to empower marketers to use their richness of their data in every stage of campaign execution. The end result? A customer experience that feels natural and personal, and that drives growth and revenue for your business.