Evolving Customer Data Strategies Among CDP Adoption in 2020

An Analysis of B2C Organizations Across the U.S. and Canada

A WBR Insights Cross-Industry Report

Executive Summary

New privacy and compliance regulations are driving companies to adopt customer data platforms (CDPs), according to research from Publicis Sapient and WBR Insights. This report surveys 100 leaders at director level and above from B2C companies in the United States and Canada, spanning nine industries including financial services, retail, and travel and hospitality. The research explores how these organizations use CDPs to better understand their customers, their long-term strategies, and areas for platform improvement.

Key findings include:

64% of respondents said their company has some form of a CDP, which draws consumer insights from multiple data sources. Of those, 56% consider their platform a success.
The top reason for considering a CDP is optimizing data privacy and compliance, followed by improving customer experience, loyalty, and personalization.
Companies are increasingly mindful of customer perceptions regarding data use, focusing on compliance and leveraging CDPs to power the entire customer experience and understand customer lifetime value.

Key Findings from This Study

Companies are focused on earning trust: Alongside data privacy and compliance, 51% of respondents are making a concerted effort to improve transparency with customers. Gaining a better understanding of customers is the second highest priority. Over one-third also cited privacy as a key data management initiative for 2020.
CDPs are used to drive loyalty: Improving customer loyalty is a major priority. Data privacy and transparency are closely linked to loyalty, as customers are more likely to remain with brands that clearly communicate how their data is used. A recent Ipsos survey found 67% of consumers would be comfortable sharing data if they understood its use. Respondents also use CDPs to improve personalization, though 23% need to improve data access across their organizations. Personalization is most effective when all relevant teams can easily access customer data.
CDPs are being used to mitigate risk: Risk management, risk modeling, and churn reduction are top initiatives for CDP improvement in 2020. De-risking is tied to making real-time changes using accurate analytics. With high-profile cyberattacks and data breaches in recent years, companies are keen to protect customer data and govern its storage throughout their technology stack.

CDPs in the COVID-19 Era

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated online shopping, with U.S. retailers’ online revenues up 68% year-over-year as of mid-April. Customers are leaving behind valuable behavioral and preference data. While this survey was conducted before the pandemic, it is notable that many respondents are focused on transparency and loyalty—key factors as customers seek reliable brands during uncertain times.

Respondents without CDPs report less success: 45% of those without a CDP say their customer data tools are “in need of improvement.” CDPs can help grow and retain customer relationships, especially as digital engagement becomes more critical.

Study Demographics

Publicis Sapient and WBR Insights surveyed 100 professionals across multiple roles and industries:

Industry Representation:

Telecommunications & Media: 12%
Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG): 11%
Energy: 11%
Financial Services: 11%
Healthcare: 11%
Retail: 11%
Technology: 11%
Transportation: 11%
Travel & Hospitality: 11%

Seniority:

Director: 83%
Department Head: 9%
VP or Executive: 6%
C-Suite: 2%

Roles:

Innovation: 19%
Customer Experience: 15%
Customer Analytics: 13%
Marketing: 13%
Transformation: 13%
Customer Loyalty: 8%
Digital: 6%
Customer Insights: 5%
Customer Data: 3%
Customer Data Platform: 3%
Customer Personalization: 2%

The Current State of CDP Adoption Among B2C Brands

64% of companies surveyed currently operate a CDP, while 36% do not. Of those with a CDP, 56% rate their platform as successful, 35% say it is in need of improvement, and 9% consider it unsuccessful. Among those without a CDP, only 33% rate their existing customer data tools as successful, while 45% say they need improvement and 22% find them unsuccessful.

Efforts to Build Customer Understanding

Companies are making concerted efforts in the following areas:

Improve customer loyalty: 56%
Increase transparency for customers: 51%
Increase opportunities to access customer data: 49%
Retarget offers: 47%
Improve product lifecycle management: 44%
Drive existing customers to try new products: 37%
Specialize offers and exclusive content: 34%
Delight customers with personalization: 33%
Acquire more or better first-party customer data: 31%
Attract new customers: 29%
Increase spend of existing customers: 26%

Companies are prioritizing customer loyalty and transparency over new customer acquisition. Transparency and loyalty are interrelated, as customers are more likely to remain loyal to brands that are open about data collection and use. Nearly half of respondents are working to increase access to customer data, improve retargeted offers, and manage customer lifecycles. Personalization remains a focus, with new technologies like AI, AR, and blockchain opening further opportunities.

Top Reasons for Adopting a CDP

Optimizing data privacy and compliance: 26%
Improving customer experience (including personalization and loyalty): 23%
Improving data management, scaling, and access: 23%
Optimizing advertising and media campaigns: 19%
Optimizing spend: 9%

The primary driver for CDP adoption is data privacy and compliance, reflecting consumer demand for transparency and regulatory pressures. Improving customer experience and data management are also key motivators.

Customer Experience and Personalization Initiatives for 2020

Email marketing: 57%
Orchestrating the customer journey: 48%
Omnichannel navigation: 42%
Optimizing digital channels: 41%
Website content: 39%
Fulfillment and product delivery options: 38%
Product recommendations: 34%
Customer service enablement: 33%
Personalized marketing campaigns: 30%

Most companies plan to use customer data to enhance email marketing, orchestrate the customer journey, and improve omnichannel experiences. Personalization efforts extend to website content, product recommendations, and customer service.

Success with Customer Data Systems

Gated/Exclusive Offers Platforms: 63% successful
Store Credit/Store Debit Cards Systems: 62% successful
Subscriptions Systems: 59% successful
Loyalty Management Systems: 58% successful
Cross-Sell/Up-Sell Platforms: 58% successful
Customer Acquisition Platforms: 55% successful
Retention/Churn-Reducing Systems: 51% successful
Redemptions & Rewards Systems: 50% successful
Early Activation Systems: 44% successful

While most respondents report success with these systems, a significant portion also see room for improvement, particularly in retention, subscription, and rewards systems. Early activation systems are the most frequently reported as unsuccessful.

Data Management and Execution Initiatives for 2020

Deriving customer insights: 59%
Scaling and increasing data availability: 40%
Applying insights in non-digital channels: 40%
Understanding customer context, sentiment, and intent: 39%
Supply chain, inventory, and warehouse optimization: 39%
Data sharing and partnership opportunities: 37%
Privacy: 37%
Data syncing and linking: 36%
Integrating online and offline data in real time: 35%
Building data functions for ongoing customer understanding: 33%
Achieving “data self-sufficiency”: 30%
Demand forecasting and analysis: 25%
Customer profile management: 20%

Most companies are focused on improving customer insights, data availability, and applying insights across channels. Data sharing, privacy, and real-time integration are also priorities.

Success with Media Initiatives

Targeting/Segmentation: 73% successful
Social Media: 60% successful
Contextual Marketing: 55% successful
Brand Management: 58% successful
Third-Party Enrichment: 55% successful
Behavioral Marketing: 54% successful
Spend Optimization: 53% successful
Ad/Ad Campaign Optimization: 51% successful
SEM/SEO: 49% successful
Media Delivery Optimization: 49% successful
Channel Marketing: 47% successful
Content: 47% successful
Remarketing: 42% successful
Lead Generation: 38% successful

Targeting and segmentation are the most successful media initiatives, while content, remarketing, and lead generation are less successful and often cited as needing improvement. Content strategy, in particular, is an area where many companies see a need for enhancement, likely due to rising consumer expectations for personalized and contextualized content.

Participation in Data “Clean Rooms”

AdsDataHub (Google Cloud): 63% participating, 30% interested
Amazon Advertising (AWS): 54% participating, 34% interested
Microsoft Advertising (Azure): 41% participating, 48% interested

Clean Rooms allow companies to safely compare their first-party data with platform data, enabling more accurate measurement and analysis. Participation is highest with Google and Amazon, with significant interest in Microsoft’s offering.

Risk and Compliance Initiatives for 2020

Risk Management: 58%
Early Collection Modeling: 57%
Compliance: 46%
Risk Modeling: 45%
Fraud Detection: 37%
GDPR/CA Compliance: 35%
PCI Compliance: 32%
Data De-Duplication: 30%
Governance, Access, & Security: 29%
Pre-Approval: 29%
Collection Optimization: 24%
PII: 23%
PHI/HIPAA: 20%

Risk management and early collection modeling are top priorities, with many companies also focusing on compliance, risk modeling, and fraud detection. CDPs help mitigate risk by providing controls for data use and storage, ensuring compliance and security.

CDP Preferences and Investment Strategies

41% prefer a hybrid CDP (combining bespoke and off-the-shelf components)
32% prefer a bespoke CDP
27% prefer an off-the-shelf CDP

A majority (54%) consider working with a CDP implementation expert a valuable investment. Companies are prioritizing solutions that increase reliance on first-party data (25%), consolidate and optimize marketing spend (19%), and focus on risk management and compliance (14%).

Collaboration and Competitive Concerns

CMOs and CIOs/CDOs are collaborating on customer intelligence initiatives, with both often taking leadership roles. Some respondents are unconcerned about competitors’ customer data strategies, while others recognize the risk of falling behind if competitors adopt CDPs or amass customer intelligence first.

Impact of Customer Data Strategies

Respondents expect improvements in personalization, customer loyalty, and overall customer experience as a result of recent or upcoming changes to their customer data strategies. Upgrades in data management technology are seen as key to achieving long-term business goals and delivering highly personalized experiences.

About Publicis Sapient

Publicis Sapient is a digital transformation partner helping established organizations reach their digitally-enabled future, both in operations and customer service. With 20,000 people in 53 offices worldwide, Publicis Sapient combines strategy, consulting, customer experience, agile engineering, and creativity to accelerate clients’ businesses.

About WBR Insights

WBR Insights is the custom research division of Worldwide Business Research (WBR), providing research-based whitepapers, webinars, digital summits, and other thought-leadership assets to inform and educate key stakeholders.

For more information, visit publicissapient.com/CDP and www.wbrinsights.com.

Works Cited

Pemberton, Chris. (March 16, 2018) “Key Findings From The Gartner Customer Experience Survey.” Gartner. Retrieved from: https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/key-findings-from-the-gartner-customer-experience-survey/
Abramovich, Giselle. (2018) “Consumer Demand For Personalized Content Reaches All-Time High.” Adobe. Retrieved from: https://cmo.adobe.com/articles/2018/1/adobe-2018-consumer-content-survey.html