Customer Data Platform (CDP)
A CDP, or Customer Data Platform, is software that helps businesses gather everything they know about their customers into one place. It’s a tidy, central hub where all your data (emails opened, pages visited, purchases made, support tickets raised) comes together under a single customer record. That’s a CDP. It helps marketers see the complete picture of each person they’re trying to reach so they can make smarter, more personal decisions.
Typical characteristics of a Customer Data Platform include:
- A CDP pulls customer data from multiple sources into one unified profile.
- It helps marketers understand behaviour, segment audiences, and personalise campaigns.
- Unlike a CRM or DMP, a CDP handles real-time, first-party data across systems.
- Identity resolution is a core function, linking data from different platforms to the same person.
- It’s beneficial for brands with high customer volume and omnichannel campaigns.
It’s important not to confuse a CDP with other similar platforms. A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system primarily focuses on (B2B) sales interactions, and it’s often limited to what sales reps manually enter. A DMP (Data Management Platform) is used for anonymous web data and targeting ads to audiences, not people. A CDP is different because it collects known, first-party customer data, keeps it updated in real time, and makes it available to other systems automatically.
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