SAP Customer Data Platform: Discover the benefits of CDP

Last October, SAP announced the release of the SAP Customer Data Platform, an enterprise solution for managing customer data and delivering personalized customer experiences.

As people discover the benefits of CDPs, they have been gaining popularity. Over the past several years, with the proliferation of data bringing unprecedented opportunities for businesses the concept of CDPs are alluring … if only they can find a way to leverage it at scale.

So what is the SAP Customer Data Platform, and what makes it different?

Mind the experience gap: The challenges of personalization

As access to all sorts of data exploded in the age of digital transformation, companies recognized the value of that data and started collecting it. But different departments, responsible for different parts of the customer journey, collected and stored different data. Sales teams logged customer data in their CRM systems. Customer service teams kept track of service interactions. Account data, privacy data, and transactional data would be stored in separate systems altogether. Everyone was working hard, but the mix was still not quite right.

As companies sought out 360-degree customer profiles to elevate their CX, engineers were tasked with connecting these disparate systems and somehow making sense of the data with custom integrations.

CDPs seek to address the gap in that experience—serving as the hub for all customer data, a single access point that talks to those systems, and translating that data into actionable insights.

Better marketing intelligence, better decisions

Today, there's so much data that it can be overwhelming. How do you get the insights you need to help your business succeed?

3 Pillars of the SAP Customer Data Platform

The SAP Customer Data Platform was purpose-built around three core pillars: 

1.  UNIFY FRAGMENTED DATA

   The SAP Customer Data Platform collects data from all interactions, engagements, transactions, and systems and brings it together to build rich customer profiles. It promises to leave no stone unturned, designed to take in massive amounts of data, whether first, second or third party, structured or unstructured, known or anonymous. And that includes back-office, operational data.

   This not only gives you deeper insight into each customer but CDP also makes it easier to see behavioral patterns and tap into new opportunities.

2. RESPECT YOUR CUSTOMER’S PRIVACY

   Trust is at the heart of any good customer experience. Customers are happy to share their data in exchange for personalized interactions but break their trust and they won’t think twice before breaking ties with you.

   SAP’s CDP is built on a foundation of data privacy and data governance, designed to reduce compliance risk and make it easier to honor your customers’ privacy preferences at every touchpoint.

3. ACTIVATE HYPER-PERSONALIZATION

   Personalization is more than just addressing someone by name. It’s taking the time to understand who they are, and where they’re coming from. It’s all about context and intent. This approach to CX has reciprocity and, by leading with transparency about consent, customers trust you more as you get to know them.

   SAP Customer Data Platform seeks to uncover that context across the entire customer journey – not just through marketing engagements but in sales, commerce, and service interactions too. It offers two unique views of the customer: one designed for operational systems like CRM and ERP, and one designed for marketing and advertising engagements. This allows you to personalize every time interaction, and make the cross-channel experience consistent and seamless.

Privacy, please! 3 ways to protect your personal data

Heard of "Off-Facebook Activity" settings? Learn how companies are tracking your data, and how to protect your personal data.

Built for the enterprise

SAP’s expertise in back-office data management and enterprise experience is embedded in its CDP solution. It is designed to elevate the entire customer experience by making sense of the massive amounts of data collected by large organizations and making it work for the business.

This goes beyond personalized marketing campaigns. It brings high-quality data and real-time insights into every part of the business, unlocking responsiveness, innovation, and effective communication at every level.