CDP vs. CERP: Key Differences and How to Choose the Right Tool for Your Brand
Consumer brands globally and in India are significantly investing in marketing automation tools to manage customer expectations online by leveraging insights from their digital behaviour. The two most common tools are a CDP (Customer Data Platform) and CERP (Customer Engagement and Retention Platform). Thanks to a mix of misplaced positioning and low awareness, both these tools are used interchangeably and most consumer brands, especially in India believe that both are one and the same.
We are listing out the key differences between a CDP and CERP to help brands understand which tool they need to invest in to address their marketing goals.
1. Purpose:
CDP: Collects and unifies customer data from multiple sources to create a single customer view. This data can be used to personalise marketing, optimise customer interactions and make better decisions.
CERP: Engages customers through personalised messaging, loyalty programs, automated interactions and retains customers by improving customer experiences over time.
2. Features:
CDP:
- Data from multiple channels (online, offline, CRM, website, apps etc.).
- Real-time customer profiles to personalise marketing.
- Advanced segmentation, behaviour tracking and real-time insights for marketers.
CERP:
- Customer engagement tools like messaging, loyalty rewards, email, push notifications and social media.
- Analytics to measure customer lifetime value, predict churn and offer personalised retention strategies.
- Customer support, feedback loops and ongoing interaction to retain customers and reduce churn.
3. Data vs. Engagement:
CDP: Collects, unifies and analyses customer data. It’s a foundation for other marketing and engagement tools to personalise.
CERP: Built around actionable insights and engagement tactics. Uses customer data (often fed from a CDP or CRM) to engage and retain customers through targeted campaigns, interactions and experiences.
4. Output and Use Cases:
CDP: Used by marketers for campaign segmentation, personalisation and customer analytics. It’s about collecting and analysing data to inform broader customer experience strategies.
CERP: Used by customer experience, marketing and support teams to directly interact with customers, build loyalty programs, provide personalised experiences and increase retention rates through actionable campaigns.
5. Real-Time Activation:
CDP: Provides real-time data access for customer profiling but needs to be integrated with engagement platforms to activate those insights.
CERP: Can use customer insights to drive immediate actions like sending personalised messages, running customer retention programs and customer support initiatives.
6. Target Market:
CDP: Marketers and analysts looking to consolidate customer data from multiple sources and use it for data driven marketing.
CERP: Engagement and customer experience teams who build relationships and retain customers through active communication and engagement strategies.
7. Integration:
CDP: Integrates with other platforms like CRMs, marketing automation tools and customer engagement platforms to enrich customer profiles and feed data for engagement.
CERP: Works alongside or on top of CDPs, CRMs or marketing platforms to use data and retention strategies.
In a nutshell:
- CDP is data focused, collecting and organising customer information for personalised marketing and engagement.
- CERP is action focussed, engaging customers, improving their experience and retaining them by using insights from a CDP.
Both platforms are complementary, with the CDP acting as a data hub and the CERP as the engine driving customer interaction and loyalty.
