Beyond chaos: CRM and CDP for effective customer management

The acceleration of eCommerce in recent years, along with the increasing importance of data science and AI, has made the landscape even more complex. The line between order and chaos is becoming increasingly thin.

Experience and customer journey: these concepts hide great opportunities in an ever-evolving scenario.

But what is the winning formula?

In a context populated by numerous tools and promises of extraordinary results, what is the truth? Is there really a magic formula to create the perfect ecosystem?

The fundamental first step is awareness. It’s essential to adopt a tailored approach, based on the specific characteristics of the brand or business. Applications are useful tools, but the strategy guides their use.

One of the most relevant branches of digital innovation concerns CRM and CDP technologies.

CRM and CDP: Differences and Benefits

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a system that manages and analyzes customer interactions and data, integrating with websites and management systems to collect useful information. Key features include:

• Audience Management: Registration and organization of contact information.
• Sales Management: Monitoring sales opportunities and related processes.
• Marketing Automation: Planning and managing marketing campaigns.
• Customer Care: Managing customer requests and post-sales interactions.
• Analytics and Reporting: Collecting and analyzing customer data to gain valuable insights.

Customer Data Platform (CDP) focuses on collecting, unifying, and managing data from multiple sources. Key features include:

• Data Collection: Aggregation of data from various sources such as websites, apps, CRM, social media, and email marketing.
• Data Unification: Creating unified customer profiles.
• Advanced Segmentation: Creating customer segments based on various criteria.
• Data Activation: Using data for personalization, targeting, and optimizing customer service.

Key CRM and CDP Tools

Salesforce CRM

• Features: Wide range of functionalities for sales, marketing automation, customer care, and data analysis. It’s a market leader with substantial costs.
• Advantages: Highly customizable, cloud support, integration with numerous other business tools.

HubSpot CRM

• Features: Free with basic functions and premium options for advanced features. Includes contact management, marketing automation, and reporting.
• Advantages: Easy to use, native integration with HubSpot's marketing and sales suite.

Segment CDP

• Features: Aggregates data from various sources to create unified customer profiles, identity resolution, advanced segmentation, and data activation.
• Advantages: Wide range of integrations, ability to handle large volumes of data in real-time.

Tealium Real-Time CDP

• Features: Aggregates and manages data from various sources, enabling advanced audience segmentation for effective targeting. Offers robust data privacy management tools, supports marketing automation, and data activation across various channels. Designed to be highly scalable, suitable for organizations of any size, and adaptable to various business needs.
• Advantages: Enhances personalization of interactions, increases operational efficiency, optimizes marketing performance, and ensures compliance with data privacy regulations.

Pricing Insights

Regarding CRMs, Salesforce leads the enterprise segment with complex pricing structures, often implying investments of tens of thousands of euros per year. HubSpot has a very transparent and affordable pricing model—expect to spend around €15K annually for a company like ours.

On the CDP front, Tealium and Segment have medium/high pricing, which could easily exceed €50K per year in complex situations. For medium to small businesses, more affordable and suitable solutions include RudderStack and Snowplow, especially if your company has the technical skills to manage and customize open-source solutions. If you prefer a platform with a simpler interface and integrated support, Segment and Lytics offer a good balance between cost and functionality.

Generally, for a company with €1M in online revenue, we would budget €20~50K per year depending on the data volume and required features.

Therefore, there is no universal magic formula for perfect customer base management. However, combining a well-defined strategy with the use of appropriate technological tools such as CRM and CDP can bring you closer to this goal. Choosing the right applications, adapting them to your needs, and effectively integrating them into your business ecosystem is the fundamental step towards optimal customer experience and efficient data management.

Want to know more?

Contact us!

— 7 August 2024