Customer Data Platform

What is a Customer Data Platform?

A Customer Data Platform (CDP) is a centralized software solution that collects, unifies, and activates customer data from multiple sources. It creates a persistent, consistent customer profile and makes this data available for marketing, sales, and automation use cases.

How does a Customer Data Platform work?

A Customer Data Platform integrates structured and unstructured data from CRM systems, marketing tools, web applications, transactional systems, and offline sources. The data is cleansed, unified, and consolidated at the individual or account level. Within marketing and MarTech environments, a CDP acts as the connective layer between data silos and activation channels, enabling near real-time data usage.

Triggers, data, or processes

CDPs often operate on event-based logic. Behavioral signals, status changes, or external inputs can trigger defined processes such as segmentation, scoring, or handover to marketing automation and direct mail systems.

Typical B2B use cases

In B2B environments, Customer Data Platforms support account-based marketing by combining marketing and sales data into a single view. Common use cases include cross-channel personalization, lead prioritization based on unified engagement histories, and the orchestration of digital and physical touchpoints across the customer journey.

Benefits of a Customer Data Platform in B2B

A Customer Data Platform increases data quality and transparency across customers and accounts. It enables consistent personalization, more efficient campaign execution, and stronger alignment between marketing and sales. From a strategic perspective, it supports data-driven decision-making while operationally reducing manual data handling and improving the return on existing technology investments.

Customer Data Platform vs. related concepts

Unlike traditional marketing automation platforms, a CDP focuses on data unification rather than campaign execution. Email or direct mail tools rely on data but do not provide the same depth of data integration. A Customer Data Platform complements these systems by serving as the central data foundation for all channels.

How eesii supports Customer Data Platforms:

A direct mail automation platform such as eesii uses data provided by a Customer Data Platform to integrate physical mail into automated marketing and sales workflows. Based on unified customer data, triggers can be defined, personalization applied, and offline touchpoints aligned with digital activities.