2030, Today

A survey of over 4,000 customer data decision makers to gauge current and future predictions for the CDP industry.

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INTRODUCTION

On the back of COVID-19, digital transformation roadmaps have been accelerated by up to a decade. Digitally-native and legacy companies have seen a surge of customers migrating to digital channels.

This is a permanent shift that won’t be unwound. If we’ve seen 10 years growth in just 3 months, think about what the world might look like in 2030.

To cater to these new realities, customer data platforms have become the must-have infrastructure for any serious digital-first business.

To better understand the effects they’re having on digital transformation efforts across the world, Segment surveyed over 4,000 decision makers to gauge their current and future predictions for the CDP industry.

The new realities:

Every business will be an internet business.
Every business will be working across channels and devices.
Every business will have dozens if not hundreds of tools in their tech stack.
Every business will require an up-to-date, real time view of their customers.

"We’ve seen two years’ worth of digital transformation in two months."

Satya Nadella CEO of Microsoft

Source: Microsoft FY20 Q3 Earnings Call

Our findings & predictions

Customer data is the new currency

As digital channels continue to grow and fragment, customer data will help companies achieve greater revenue and efficiencies. 58% of customers expect customer data to drive revenue growth for their company.

Digital transformation efforts will drive CDP adoption

As the world begins a mass exodus to digital, customer data platforms are becoming a growing line item in technology budgets. 47% of respondents say they will increase their CDP budget by over 25% in the next 5 years.

CDPs will drive the customer experience

Delivering a personalized, targeted customer experience is a key facet of a successful digital transformation. None of this possible without a CDP. 73% of respondents say a customer data platform will be critical to their customer experience efforts.

"In the past 3 months, we have witnessed 10 years of digital commerce adoption. The pace of adoption, scale and change is unlike any other time in history."

Bryan Gregg Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company

Source: McKinsey: 75% of Americans have changed brands during the pandemic

Customer experience has become the #1 priority

And businesses are investing in customer data platforms to deliver it.

73% say a customer data platform will be critical to their customer experience efforts.

How do you plan to use a customer data platform?

(business use cases)

"For those of you sitting on treasure troves of data you’ve already collected, it’s time to do something with it."

Dara Treseder SVP, Head of Global Marketing & Communications, Peloton

Source: Data-Inspired Creativity

How do you plan to use a customer data platform?

(business use cases)

Data silos are being torn down

To drive their customer experience efforts, businesses are hungry for data accessibility and data unification.

61% say they would like increased access to data across the org.

"Today, there's no shortage of tools to collect and organize customer data. What's lacking is the ability to translate mountains of data into actionable insights. Brands need to be able to listen, understand and act in order to unlock the true value of data and serve customers relevant and memorable experiences."

Sara Spivey CMO, Braze

Source: Why Too Much Data Is A Problem And How To Prevent It

Personalization takes on a new urgency

Businesses are turning to CDPs for personalization, real-time customer profiles, and multi-channel campaign orchestration.

61% say that a CDP will be critical to their personalization efforts.

To enable personalization, what type of solution is your business seeking?

Illustration: Personalization takes on a new urgency

What business objectives do you hope to achieve with a customer data platform?

A hunger for data reliability is driving change

Organizations see accurate, real-time customer data as central to their digital transformation efforts.

"Flexibility is critical to survival. I've seen people spend years and millions of dollars trying to implement a solution using the wrong technology only to come to this realization. As a technology leader, you have to stay current to evolving technology trends and have confidence to take calculated risks."

Alvina Antar CIO, Okta

Source: The Challenge: Leveraging Existing Technologies

AI and ML use cases are proliferating

As marketers increase their use of customer data, they’re looking for new ways to deploy it.

49% say they will use a customer data platform for AI and machine learning use cases.

What use cases are you trying to enable with a CDP?

Illustration: AI and ML use cases are proliferating

Tom Litchford Head of Worldwide Business Development, Retail at AWS

Source: How COVID-19 has accelerated a new digitized normal for retailers

What ROI do you expect from investing in a CDP?

Expectations for customer data platforms are high

The expectations of marketers for customer data platforms are at an all-time high, and are increasing every year with unprecedented magnitude.

56.8% say they expect ROI of 5-10x from investing in a CDP.

"A customer data platform gives us the best shot we've ever had at obtaining a single view of each and every customer."

Aaron Carter Manager, Data Sciences & Digital Analytics, Staples Canada

Source: How Staples Canada digitally transformed their tech stack

Marketers are doubling down on business value

Marketers are less focused on generating leads and are increasingly concerned about driving revenue and customer satisfaction.

58% say they expect a CDP to deliver revenue growth for their business.

How do you intend to measure the ROI of a CDP?

Illustration: Marketers are doubling down on business value

"I have no idea what the next challenge is that our business will face, but with an integrated data pipeline and a single view of our customers, we’re as well positioned as we can be for the future."

Daryl Boden SVP, Technology, Fox

Source: Customer data win-win

On an annual basis, how much will your company spend on a CDP?

COVID-19 has accelerated an increase in CDP budgets

As business buyers re-evaluate their technology and growth plans for the year, investments in CDP continue to grow unabated.

62% say they will spend over $100,000 on their CDP.

"Mashing up clean data from multiple sources, using it to prompt timely and relevant communications, and visualizing it in a common BI interface...is changing the way individual companies are taking their solutions to market."

Joe Chernov CMO, Pendo

Source: CRM Alone Isn’t Enough to Drive Growth. Here’s Why.

And those budgets will continue to grow

In spite of business uncertainty, CDPs remain a strategic priority for businesses in the years ahead.

On average, 47% of respondents say they will increase their CDP budget by over 25% in the next 5 years.

From 2020-2025, how much do you expect your CDP budget to grow?

Illustration: And those budgets will continue to grow

"We’re still early in the digital transformation journey. IDC predicts that we will grow from around $12 trillion in worldwide GDP driven by digitally transformed businesses in 2018 to a whopping $50 trillion in 2023."

Scott Brinker VP of Platform, Hubspot

Source: Forget the Martech 5000. Try the Martech 500 Million.

Do you plan to continue using a customer data platform?

Companies are confident in the value of CDPs

Despite being an emerging category, retention of CDPs remains high.

86% plan to continue using a customer data platform.

METHODOLOGY

Survey conducted in conjunction with PWC from July 2nd-15th

4,684 responses

Respondents from the following industries: Internet, Software & Services, Manufacturing, Financial Services, CPG, Healthcare, Media, Education, Professional Services

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It may have become 2030 overnight, but you can get started today.

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If you follow the six steps outlined in our guide, you'll have much more success finding the right CDP that fits your company's unique needs.

Our buyer’s guide for CDPs will help you understand when it’s time to buy a CDP, which features you need, and how to evaluate the various CDP vendors out there.

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