Introduction
On the back of COVID-19, digital transformation roadmaps have been accelerated by up to a decade. Digitally-native and legacy companies have seen a surge of customers migrating to digital channels.
This is a permanent shift that won’t be unwound. If we’ve seen 10 years growth in just 3 months, think about what the world might look like in 2030.
To cater to these new realities, customer data platforms have become the must-have infrastructure for any serious digital-first business.
To better understand the effects they’re having on digital transformation efforts across the world Segment, the #1 customer data platform, surveyed over 4,000 decision makers to gauge their current and future predictions for the CDP industry.
The new realities:
- Every business will be an internet business.
- Every business will be working across channels and devices.
- Every business will have dozens if not hundreds of tools in their tech stack.
- Every business will require an up-to-date, real time view of their customers.
“We’ve seen two years’ worth of digital transformation in two months.”
Satya Nadella
CEO of MicrosoftSource: Microsoft FY20 Q3 Earnings Call
Our findings & predictions
Customer data is the new currency
As digital channels continue to grow and fragment, customer data will help companies achieve greater revenue and efficiencies. 58% of customers expect customer data to drive revenue growth for their company.
Digital transformation efforts will drive CDP adoption
As the world begins a mass exodus to digital, customer data platforms are becoming a growing line item in technology budgets. 47% of respondents say they will increase their CDP budget by over 25% in the next 5 years.
CDPs will drive the customer experience
Delivering a personalized, targeted customer experience is a key facet of a successful digital transformation. None of this possible without a CDP. 73% of respondents say a customer data platform will be critical to their customer experience efforts.
“In the past 3 months, we have witnessed 10 years of digital commerce adoption. The pace of adoption, scale and change is unlike any other time in history.”
Bryan Gregg
Senior Partner, McKinsey & CompanySource: McKinsey: 75% of Americans have changed brands during the pandemic
Customer experience has become the #1 priority
And businesses are investing in customer data platforms to deliver it.
73% say a customer data platform will be critical to their customer experience efforts.
How do you plan to use a customer data platform?
(business use cases)
“For those of you sitting on treasure troves of data you’ve already collected, it’s time to do something with it.”
Dara Treseder
SVP, Head of Global Marketing & Communications, PelotonSource: Data-Inspired Creativity
Data silos are being torn down
To drive their customer experience efforts, businesses are hungry for data accessibility and data unification.
61% say they would like increased access to data across the org.
How do you plan to use a customer data platform?
(business use cases)
“Today, there's no shortage of tools to collect and organize customer data. What's lacking is the ability to translate mountains of data into actionable insights. Brands need to be able to listen, understand and act in order to unlock the true value of data and serve customers relevant and memorable experiences.”
Sara Spivey
CMO, BrazeSource: Why Too Much Data Is A Problem And How To Prevent It
Personalization takes on a new urgency
Businesses are turning to CDPs for personalization, real-time customer profiles, and multi-channel campaign orchestration.
61% say that a CDP will be critical to their personalization efforts.
To enable personalization, what type of solution is your business seeking?
A hunger for data reliability is driving change
Organizations see accurate, real-time customer data as central to their digital transformation efforts.
What business objectives do you hope to achieve with a customer data platform?
“Flexibility is critical to survival. I've seen people spend years and millions of dollars trying to implement a solution using the wrong technology only to come to this realization. As a technology leader, you have to stay current to evolving technology trends and have confidence to take calculated risks.”
Alvina Antar
CIO, OktaAI and ML use cases are proliferating
As marketers increase their use of customer data, they’re looking for new ways to deploy it.
49% say they will use a customer data platform for AI and machine learning use cases.
What use cases are you trying to enable with a CDP?
“Flexibility is critical to survival. I've seen people spend years and millions of dollars trying to implement a solution using the wrong technology only to come to this realization. As a technology leader, you have to stay current to evolving technology trends and have confidence to take calculated risks.”
Tom Litchford
Head of Worldwide Business Development, Retail at AWSSource: How COVID-19 has accelerated a new digitized normal for retailers
Expectations for customer data platforms are high
The expectations of marketers for customer data platforms are at an all-time high, and are increasing every year with unprecedented magnitude.
56.8% say they expect ROI of 5-10x from investing in a CDP.
What ROI do you expect from investing in a CDP?
“A customer data platform gives us the best shot we've ever had at obtaining a single view of each and every customer.”
Aaron Carter
Manager, Data Sciences & Digital Analytics, Staples CanadaSource: How Staples Canada digitally transformed their tech stack
Marketers are doubling down on business value
Marketers are less focused on generating leads and are increasingly concerned about driving revenue and customer satisfaction.
58% say they expect a CDP to deliver revenue growth for their business.
How do you intend to measure the ROI of a CDP?
“I have no idea what the next challenge is that our business will face, but with an integrated data pipeline and a single view of our customers, we’re as well positioned as we can be for the future.”
Daryl Boden
SVP, Technology, FoxSource: Customer data win-win
COVID-19 has accelerated an increase in CDP budgets
As business buyers re-evaluate their technology and growth plans for the year, investments in CDP continue to grow unabated.
62% say they will spend over $100,000 on their CDP.
On an annual basis, how much will your company spend on a CDP?
“Mashing up clean data from multiple sources, using it to prompt timely and relevant communications, and visualizing it in a common BI interface...is changing the way individual companies are taking their solutions to market.”
Joe Chernov
CMO, PendoAnd those budgets will continue to grow
In spite of business uncertainty, CDPs remain a strategic priority for businesses in the years ahead.
On average, 47% of respondents say they will increase their CDP budget by over 25% in the next 5 years.
From 2020-2025, how much do you expect your CDP budget to grow?
“We’re still early in the digital transformation journey. IDC predicts that we will grow from around $12 trillion in worldwide GDP driven by digitally transformed businesses in 2018 to a whopping $50 trillion in 2023.”
Scott Brinker
VP of Platform, HubspotSource: Forget the Martech 5000. Try the Martech 500 Million.
Companies are confident in the value of CDPs
Despite being an emerging category, retention of CDPs remains high.
86% plan to continue using a customer data platform.
Do you plan to continue using a customer data platform?
METHODOLOGY
- Survey conducted in conjunction with PWC from July 2nd-15th
- 4,684 responses
- Respondents from the following industries: Internet, Software & Services, Manufacturing, Financial Services, CPG, Healthcare, Media, Education, Professional Services
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Deliver the customer experience for 2030, today
As this unprecedented explosion of data and digital adoption continues, customer data platforms have become the must-have infrastructure for any serious, digital-first business.
It may have become 2030 overnight, but you can get started today.
Continue your CDP education
If you follow the six steps outlined in our guide, you'll have much more success finding the right CDP that fits your company's unique needs.
Read moreOur buyer’s guide for CDPs will help you understand when it’s time to buy a CDP, which features you need, and how to evaluate the various CDP vendors out there.
Access the guideOur CDP RFP guide provides best practices, frameworks, and an RFP template to help you identify your CDP requirements, create an effective RFP, and select the right CDP vendor.
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