History of the Customer Data Platform (CDP)

As of the writing of this entry, Customer Data Platforms are nearly a decade old, though other platforms they are closely related to are much older. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software first arrived on the scene in 1986, which provided companies with the ability to capture customer information in a new and easy-to-use manner, and utilizing first-party data collected directly from the customer or by the company. A little later, in the 2000s, Data Management Platforms (DMPs) came along to collect the rest of the data about customers: third-party and second-party data that CRMs simply weren’t created to handle. 

It wasn’t until 2013 that the term “Customer Data Platform” was first used. These platforms were created to unify the first-party (CRM) data with the second- and third-party data (DMPs) together for a single view of customers across an increasingly diverse set of channels.

Thus, CDPs are a relatively new entry to the marketing technology landscape. However, with a continually growing set of customer channels, an increased demand to deliver personalized omnichannel experiences, and increasing privacy and customer data management needs, they are quickly becoming one of the most vital components of marketing infrastructure.

History of the Customer Data Platform (CDP)

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