All about CDP, CRM, and how they work together
Many people these days are wondering what a CRM or CDP is. The confusion is understandable, as the terms often get used interchangeably. However, there are subtle differences between these two software packages. This article will examine the definition of a CDP and how it relates to a CRM.
What is not a CDP?
It’s not a CRM. And while it can be used as such, it is usually more of an enabler or bridge between your CRM and your customers. In some cases, that’s all you need.
What is CDP?
A CDP is a software package that manages your current clients. The functions of a CDP include customer relationship management, lead management, client relationship management, and marketing automation. It is a combination of different software packages specifically designed to collaborate with your CRM.
A CDP solution allows you to segment your customer base, integrate all the different aspects of your customer relationship into a single view, and simplify how you manage customers and leads.
What is CRM?
A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a program package that manages the relationship between your business and your customers. Its basic functions are sales pipeline management, lead generation, customer relationship management, and marketing automation. A CRM keeps track of new leads, inbound inquiries, and outgoing information such as email correspondence.
Difference between CRM and CDP
The most important difference between a CRM and CDP is that the former manages customer relationships, whereas the latter manages corporate contacts.
To get the best out of a CRM, you should use it to build customer relationships by automating your sales-related tasks. A CDP, on the other hand, is mainly used for communicating with people in your business or organization.
Salespeople should use a CRM to create systems that help them identify, qualify and close more sales. Salespeople use a CDP to manage the general needs of an employee or company. Thus, a CRM is more suitable for large companies, whereas a CDP is better for small companies or start-ups.
Related Resource: How Is A Real Estate CRM The Perfect Tool For Property Developer
How do CRMs and CDPs work together?
A lot of CRMs are usually able to integrate with CDPs. The integration helps to identify new prospects and contacts that you can then turn into customers. To ensure the integration works smoothly, you should use a CRM that has an API (Application Programming Interface) available or can be integrated with a CDP via an API.
Action steps that can be applied
First, make sure that you define which type of software package is best suited for your specific needs. You can do this by taking note of the size and nature of your business.
If you want to use a CRM, find a solution best suited to your needs. If, on the other hand, you would like to use a CDP, then find the software package that has all the features that you need.
The ideal solution for most businesses is to use both CRMs and CDPs. This increases efficiency in managing sales leads, better visibility into customers across different departments, and improves customer engagement.
Conclusion: A well-designed CRM provides far more value than a basic CDP solution. Ideally, it would be great to use a CRM with an integrated CDP to make sure you cover all your customer relationship management bases.
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