I did not make an end of the year Cdp Prediction for 2025 last year, but if I did, consolidation among independent CDPs would have been my first call. With hindsight, I would have been right. This year marks a transition from slow growth to deliberate growth. We can better understand where the market is heading by looking at how it has evolved.
In recent weeks, three main independent CDPs have announced mergers or acquisitions:
As a first customer of Lytics, a first employee of the company and consultant with tens of thousands of hours in the space of the CDP, I am disappointed that the self -employed are not greater.
I have always amazed the potential of a technology designed to create a 360 customer, to provide a user user interface for professional users, to integrate customer recordings with marketing channels and to allow real -time capacities. However, few brands have fully adopted all of the CDPs offer.
The former traveling market has evolved – and brands must evolve with it. But before looking to the future, it is worth recognizing what CDPs have done well and the risks they have taken along the way.
Light CDPs shone
The CDPs have illuminated the corners once in black from the customer experience ecosystem, resulting in adoption in a wide range of technologies.
Identity resolution
Going from the anonymous to known is one of the first use cases that CDP suppliers favor. When the CDP market was new, identity resolution was not a common subject in marketing departments or among those who shape customer experiences.
Most CDPs have relied on the basic resolution of identity – combining known identifiers and assembling a chain of Marguerite signals. However, the simple chaining of Marguerites did not do much to support more advanced rules such as B2B, households or other purchasing groups. For sophisticated buyers, these limits have made CDPS identity resolution capacities.
Consequently, we have seen more and more marks to go towards dedicated identity suppliers, integrating them as an essential part of their solution architecture. In my business, we have observed a significant change towards these providers while companies seek to capture and apply more relevant customer signals.
Crossed field monitoring
CDPs often claim the possibility of following users on sites and applications, but according to my experience, this capacity has generally occurred. The effective monitoring of the transversal site requires labeling on the server on the minimum, as well as a robust identity strategy – which many customers are lacking. Little have adopted the necessary changes to follow up on the server side, although they should. In 2025, many finally change.
Metarouter offers an exceptional solution for server side monitoring, and Google’s new Phoebe for the Google Tag manager offering important advantages. As the CDP market is changing, the collection of digital signals remains as crucial as ever.
Customer 360
Many CDPs have claimed “Building the 360 client” as the main advantage. Despite the false dichotomy between Composable and traditionalTraditional CDPs build a customer recording. The problem? This record often synchronizes with the brand’s gold record, undermining confidence in the solution.
Composable CDPs have done well to seize the opportunity of an alternative to zero copy, but challenges remain. Few brands have their structured customer recording for a complex inverted ETL, and when they do, it is often not optimized for CDP consumption. 2025 has an opportunity for “Customer 101», A MVP customer data store designed for rapid value time.
Omni-channel
“The right message, the right channel, the right time” is a tired sentence. However, CDPs have come closer to most to make it a reality. With solid customer signals, integrated ML capabilities and robust integration, CDPs were a promising basis for omnichannel marketing.
However, they fought with cost considerations – which are not intrinsically centered on the user – and are generally not the mail of messaging. While CDP AI / ML capabilities are robust, Centers of excellence CDP management must collaborate closely with channel teams to effectively deploy the public and capacity. Meanwhile, the progress of AI moves more decision to the cloud, further reshaping the role of CDP in the wider CX ecosystem.
In real time
Apart from the programmatic media, few Martech categories have focused on real -time activation as well as CDP. They allow real -time identity adjustments, recognition of segments, campaign triggers and site personalization.
All brands do not need this capacity, but market conversation has led to real progress in the customer experience which often benefits the end user. For example, we work with a storage company, a business based on needs where the responsiveness of the CDP is essential to the personalization of the site. This real-time capacity demand will remain strong in 2025 and beyond.
Dig more deeply: Customer data platforms in real time: promise and reality
Where the market then goes
We have identified a few key ways by the CDP category which has helped to advance market dialogue and improve the brand’s capacities. With so much consolidation, where is the industry here?
Key investments for brands
Get client data in the cloud
Brands recognize that CDPs cannot be used realistically as a gold record for customer data. Instead, CDPs are more effective as customer experience engines. Consequently, brands invest in strengthening their customer records to ensure that their Martech works with the best possible data. This will lead to better customer experiences and a reduction in supplier implementation friction.
Make customer data smarter
Brands are increasingly using AI in the cloud. A lead generation company uses AI to analyze and categorize call recordings. At the same time, a grocery chain has built an unsubscription detection system in Google Cloud which recovers more than $ 60 million in sales lost per year.
Ensure the return on investment
The days of 2021-2022, when Martech investments lacked robust measurement, are completed. Now, when implementing new solutions, the measure is integrated from the start. This change leads to more customer intelligence via BI and greater concentration on advanced analysis tools such as Google Analytics 4.
Dig more deeply: The hidden reasons that your CDP project fails
Key needs for CDPs
Put an end to the “composable‘ vs “traditional” dichotomy
Correct customer data for activation do not depend on how they are stored. Traditional CDP suppliers should extend their inverted ETL capacities to complete existing offers. In highly regulated industries, zero copy solutions may still be necessary.
Kiss the best
A truly composable approach means supporting brands using the best tools for their needs. Too often, CDPs required an adoption in full suite to unlock their complete advantages (for example, the deployment of a tag to access ML capabilities). Instead, CDPs must transparently integrate into the existing technological battery of a brand – whether by using the signals of an identity supplier or by taking charge of the server side marking via the chosen supplier of a brand.
Go deep into experience management
Pure game CDPs will be more and more part of a CX battery. The Golden customer recording will reside with the cloud supplier and CDPs will evolve towards improving customer experiences. The winners of this evolution space will integrate gently with simple tools and complex marketing technologies seeking to be the “brain” of the CX battery.
Dig more deeply: 12 ways to use a customer data platform
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