Why Every Business Needs the Microsoft Customer Data Platform
Sales and marketing teams around the world have made a science out of acquiring customers, reducing churn, and maximizing customer lifetime value. However, competition is becoming ever more fierce, and as such, technology like the Microsoft Customer Data Platform has developed to help businesses like yours keep pace.
While a Customer Data Platform (CDP) might sound like a powerful tool wielded only by the largest enterprises, in fact, CDPs are essential for all businesses, large and small, that want to remain competitive through the next decade.
In this article, we’ll learn more about CDPs such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights and how they help organizations get maximum revenue from their existing customer base while reducing the cost of acquiring new, higher-performing customers.
What’s the Difference Between CRM, DMP, and CDP?
A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution is an essential tool in the suite of software needed to run a successful company today. It does what the name says, helping sales representatives cultivate and maintain relationships with customers and automate common processes to ensure nobody falls through the cracks.
The primary focus of a Data Management Platform (DMP) is to facilitate the processing of first, second, and third-party data to segment and categorize your customers for advertising. It is not persistent, since it often comes through the use of website cookies, and thus only retains about 90 days of history. It’s good for targeting specific groups, but not for delivering individual, personalized experiences.
A Customer Data Platform (CDP) collects customer data from your other critical business applications and consolidates that data in a centralized database for synchronization and sharing. It helps you compile a truly comprehensive profile of each client, giving you a 360° view that enables you to personalize engagements across all channels.
A CDP also performs deep analytics on customer data, providing business leaders with insights needed to drive critical business decisions. With a deeper understanding of its customers, a company can deliver products and services that meet the needs of its customers and keeps them coming back for more.
Benefits of Using a Microsoft Customer Data Platform (CDP) like Dynamics 365 Customer Insights
Decades ago, customers interacted with businesses in a store, on the phone, or via mail. In today’s connected economy, customer engagement happens across a dizzying array of channels, from social media to email, text messages, and the web.
Collecting data from these interactions is an essential first step to knowing your client base. It’s also crucial to pull in and merge customer data from your internal systems. In today’s business landscape, no one application does it all; the multi-app world is a reality. So it’s important to have the underlying CDP to unify, verify, and synchronize that customer data to ensure you don’t miss anything.
But a CDP goes further; it helps you understand the who, what, when, where, and why of customer interactions. What is more, with advanced AI technology applied to your customer data, the CDP can provide insights into future interactions, demand, and more to help you stay ahead.
Such insights will help you upsell, cross-sell, and maximize customer lifetime value. Getting the most out of your existing customer base, and driving maximum revenue, is the least expensive way of increasing sales volume and profitability.
Additionally, these insights help you greatly improve your customer experience through personalization. Studies show that personalization in the sales process can influence customers to spend 5%, 10%, or even 20% more than they would have normally.
Can a Small Business Afford a Microsoft Customer Data Platform?
In short, yes. Truthfully, a CDP is a catalyst for continued growth. The data insights that Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights supplies automatically were only available with the help of a data scientist just a few years ago – and only the largest organizations could afford to hire them. Now, for less than $2000 per month, you can leverage this technology to increase revenue far beyond the CDP’s cost.
There are greater gains to be had with a CDP. Not only does it help you to upsell your current client base, but it also helps you to reduce the cost of acquiring new customers. By identifying your highest-performing customers, you can then fine-tune your marketing plan to target prospects fitting their profile, reducing your ad spending and onboarding costs.
Next Steps
Does a CDP sound like the powerful tool you need to grow your business? At CogentNext, our experts can help you determine the viability of a CDP deployment, and we can help you integrate your critical business applications to unify your customer data. Contact us today for a helping hand to position your organization for future growth!
By Chandra Subramanian | www.cogentnext.com