Categories: Customer Data Platform, Marketing,
Earlier this year, I predicted that 2019 would be the year of the B2B Customer Data Platform (CDP). With B2B marketers struggling to stay afloat in a sea of data, businesses are fast abandoning the old methods of list buying and data/analytics point-solutions, in favor of a more holistic, sophisticated, integrated approach to data.
Similarly, CRMs and Marketing Automation Platforms, while still forming the bedrock of Sales and Marketing, weren’t built to solve contemporary data problems, like proliferating vendor-centric data silos. Meanwhile, all the ABM “engagement” platforms are only making the problem worse.
Marketers (and increasingly sales operations people) are desperately searching for a single source of truth – a way to integrate, verify and enrich all the different types of data they need; draw out actionable next-step recommendations from that data; and activate it easily and seamlessly across all their Sales and Marketing channels.
The release of The Forrester New Wave: B2B Customer Data Platforms, Q2 2019 this week is the clearest sign yet that B2B businesses see CDPs as the solution to their data challenges. Read the full report here.
While CDPs have been ubiquitous in the B2C marketplace for many years now, this report represents the first time industry experts have mapped out the B2B CDP landscape.
We’re proud to see Leadspace recognized by Forrester as one of only two leaders in this highly competitive, emerging market. In the report, Leadspace was described as “a best fit for companies that need a comprehensive B2B-focused CDP,” and called out for our “compelling vision of becoming the single source of truth for intent signals and ultimately orchestrating engagement across the buying cycle.”
The Hype is Only Just Beginning — What’s Next…?
Looking ahead, it’s likely we’ll see a lot more buzz about B2B CDPs, with more and more data and analytics vendors jumping on the CDP bandwagon (sound familiar?), as well as a lot of misconceptions about what exactly a CDP is, and how it works.
But, as with any such industry “hype,” Marketing and Sales practitioners need to filter out the noise and set realistic expectations when adopting a CDP.
Forrester’s latest report is an excellent guide for B2B marketers looking to navigate this emerging market, charting the criteria that make a true B2B CDP. Critically, as always, Forrester also provides a helpful look not only at vendors’ current offerings, but also gauges their vision and strategy going forward – a key factor to consider given that this market is still in its relative infancy.
You can download the report by clicking below – or better yet, schedule a free demo, and we’ll show you firsthand how a B2B Customer Data Platform can transform your Marketing and Sales.
