Enterprise CDPs: A comparative guide to unlocking customer data value

Why another CDP roundup?

When talking to customers about selecting a CDP, the first question that stumps most buyers is: How do I compare all these options?

According to the CDP Institute, there are over 175 vendors worldwide. With that many options, it's natural to be overwhelmed. No one wants to read a comparison of 175 CDPs, so we took a different tack: covering popular CDP use cases and highlighting a vendor that excels in each business use case.

Tealium: Best for data collection and pipelines

Born from a tag management background, Tealium is a flexible platform for enterprise organizations looking for a CDP to help them with data collection. The core application is focused on collecting quality data and then moving that data to an end application, whether a marketing channel, ad network, or cloud storage option.

Over time, Tealium has expanded its offering to focus on other in-session personalization and data enrichment use cases, complementing its strong ability to move customer data.

Tealium also supports a wide range of connectors and integrations with other applications, making it easier to access customer data from a locked-away system and into somewhere it can drive value.

Many of the reviews on G2 discuss event listening and streaming use cases favorably, and companies looking to unify customer event-level data and then move it to other systems would be wise to evaluate Tealium. 

However, others call the system complex and complicated to learn, highlighting the need for a more technical user. Reporting is also highlighted as something that is limited with Tealium.

Treasure Data: Best for multi-brand customers

Treasure Data started first as a Data Warehouse application. Its history provides the application with the scalability to handle massive amounts of data within its application. This is especially important for large multi-brand companies that collect multiples of data across their multiple organizations.

As a standalone CDP, Treasure Data requires all customer data to be brought into their internal data warehouse, which could benefit organizations that don't have an extensive data infrastructure or don't want to manage the data layer.

Businesses that would rather control access to sensitive customer data must look at a different type of CDP. Storing all customer data natively within the Treasure Data system creates a separate source of truth from a company's existing data warehouse, leading to data duplication and potential inconsistencies.

G2 reviews for Treasure Data lean toward the technical user, especially data engineers. While there are fewer connectors than Tealium, and the number of integrations is called out as a con, many users highlight being able to connect to their primary marketing tools.

mParticle: Best for mobile and real-time

Real-time has always been the name of the game with mParticle. It offers a robust SDK, allowing companies that depend on real-time in-app experiences to leverage mParticle as their CDP of choice. This flexibility for real-time use cases is important for transactional and short-decision transactions, which is why a company like Burger King uses them in their tech stack.

The tradeoff is the inability to manage large amounts of batch or other enterprise non-streaming data. If your organization needs to build segments of activities and events that just happened, then mParticle might be worth looking at. 

Still, when you want to layer in a deeper understanding of customer profiles, demographics, and complex segmentation, you might struggle to get what you want out of mParticle.

G2 highlights strong capabilities around tagging and event capture but highlights caution around integration challenges, limitations in data management, and customization.

Hightouch: Best for technical DIY

Reverse ETL (rETL) is a term that describes extracting data from a data warehouse, transforming it, and loading it into some other business system. That process alone can be beneficial, but it's not enough to be a full-fledged CDP, and that's the core offering that Hightouch offers the market.

Hightouch has published controversial articles (The CDP is Dead and Friends Don't Let Friends Buy a CDP) covering this topic. Yet, only over the last couple years have they started building more and more functionality to gain parity with other CDPs, including the ones on the list.

Suppose your organization is mature and adept at managing a cloud data warehouse and needs a simple tool to move data out of the warehouse. In that case, Hightouch might be the perfect application. It's a cost-effective way for data engineers to move data around.

G2 reviews are often focused on Hightouch's ability to connect two systems, but there are many issues and complaints around syncing, which is supposed to be the core offering. So, while using Hightouch might save your data team time, the business value of a full CDP might be missing from this choice.

Simon Data: Best for marketers

Obviously, we can't have a CDP roundup without including our product — it’s practically in the laws of the SaaS blogosphere that we include ourselves. But like the other CDPs on this list, we're not the right choice for every situation.

Simon Data is built as a campaign-focused CDP that sits on top of a customer's cloud data platform and unlocks the value of that enterprise data for the marketing teams.

When organizations invest in cloud data warehouses like Snowflake, the business value of consolidating enterprise data is compelling. But having the ability to activate that customer data for marketing personalization is challenging.

Simon brings that help through a marketer-friendly interface that doesn't require data teams to give up access or control, which is a win for both teams.

Focusing on the campaign side, Simon allows teams to build robust customer journeys, activate data to communication and ad channels, manage complex experimentation and segmentation, and drive personalization.

Organizations who don't want a third-party email platform also look to Simon Data for its integrated Simon Mail application, allowing marketers to build email and SMS content and then deliver it from within the CDP.

G2 reviews from marketers appreciate the bundled approach to email and customer marketing but highlight that more connectors and integrations should be added.

Adobe & Salesforce: Best if you're already stuck with the large marketing clouds

Adobe and Salesforce will never disappear, but that doesn't mean you have to live with them. We know that many organizations consider themselves "Adobe or Salesforce shops,” and that culture alone drives the decision for a CDP.

But going all in on one vendor in a space with enough options to pick what's best for your company is not always the right choice.

How to choose the right CDP?

So, given the information above, how should you choose the CDP that's right for you? 

First, download our CDP RFP template. Then, read our CDP Buyer’s Guide or our Snowflake + CDP Guide, which go into more detail about the CDP space and business benefits.

Assuming you already have leadership buy-in (if not, here’s how to convince your boss you need a CDP), be honest about your potential CDP use cases. 

Understanding how you plan to use it today and in the future is key, but don't overestimate your needs until you've evaluated multiple options. Shiny objects can have you chasing features you don't need to be successful.

I always suggest an organization talk about what it can't do today first, then talk about what you'd like to be able to do. If you can start filling the gaps in your campaigns and workflows, then the CDP will be an ROI-positive investment much faster than focusing on what you might do in the future.

Finally, book demos and meet the teams. In our experience, many successful implementations come down to finding a team that understands your business and is willing to help you find the path to success. 

After all, if you don't connect with them during the demo or they focus only on showing you a flashy art of the possible, will implementation and future ongoing customer support be much different?

Conclusion

Ultimately, the right CDP for your Snowflake-powered enterprise depends on your specific needs, technical capabilities, and long-term data strategy. 

Whether you prioritize marketer-friendly interfaces, robust data collection, or seamless integration with your existing tech stack, a CDP solution can help you unlock the full potential of your customer data.

By carefully evaluating your options and aligning them with your business goals, you can choose a CDP that complements your cloud data platform investment and drives tangible business value through enhanced customer experiences and data-driven decision-making.