RESOURCE CENTER

Data Activation Guide: Redefining the CDP

5 use cases that connect data across departments to power AI and agents

All marketers know they should be using data to inform decisions, power AI and agents, and personalize interactions, but precious few know how to actually do it. The ones who do end up on top. Where does that leave everyone else?

The most successful companies are data-driven, because data allows them to get a complete picture of their customers – proving to them that they know, understand, and value them. It also lets marketers personalize experiences to make sure the right message reaches the right person on the right channel at the right time, and to be more efficient with AI and agents. However, harnessing all this information can be tricky. To do it, companies must contend with a few issues: having too much data, data and technology siloes, siloed workstreams, and ongoing privacy changes that complicate data governance, usage and management.

Plus, while many companies have made the first steps toward centralizing their data via Customer Data Platforms (CDP) and Data Lakes or Data Warehouses, they still struggle to use those tools to power AI and agents, decrease cost of customer acquisition, improve conversion rates, and increase lifetime value.

That’s because centralizing data is not enough. It might still be trapped in isolated systems belonging to one department or another, and disconnected from the applications you use to connect with customers. Plus, the data required to train large language models (LLMs) needs to be current, and properly governed. Data silos are the greatest impediment to leveraging AI effectively.

Obviously this is a big deal for marketers, but it’s also important for any frontline team across the business that could benefit from having more complete data, AI insights, and an agent to augment their work. This includes sales reps, service reps, and merchandisers. The traditional customer data platform (CDP) – which unified data across channels into customer profiles – was a great tool for marketing teams. However, it didn’t give other lines of business the ability to access or take action on those customer profiles.