Report:
The Forrester Wave™: B2B Customer Data Platforms, Q4 2023
How does Forrester define the B2B Customer Data Platforms market in 2023?
B2B marketing and sales teams face challenges with fragmented customer data landscapes that hinder understanding of customer behavior, preferences, and journeys, limiting their ability to deliver personalized campaigns. B2B CDPs provide a powerful, business-user-friendly solution for managing and utilizing customer data. These platforms are leveraging AI to analyze vast data volumes, identify trends, create precise customer segments based on demographics, firmographics, behavioral patterns, and predictive indicators, and enable real-time insights for orchestrating personalized interactions across multiple engagement channels.
Key Facts for The Forrester Wave™: B2B Customer Data Platforms, Q4 2023 in 2023
- Publication Date: 12-Dec-2023
- Document ID: RES178456
- Summary: In our 29-criterion evaluation of standalone B2B customer data platform (CDP) providers, we identified the most significant ones and researched, analyzed, and scored them. This report shows how each provider measures up and helps revenue operations professionals select the right one for their needs.
- Authors: Katie Linford, Cristina De Martini, Angela Lozada, Ellen Lind
How did the B2B Customer Data Platforms market evolve in 2023?
- B2B CDPs are leveraging AI to analyze vast amounts of data to identify trends and create more precise customer segments
- AI can analyze engagement data in real time, providing sales and marketing teams with immediate insights into customer preferences and potential objections
- B2B marketing and sales teams face challenges with a highly fragmented customer data landscape
- B2B CDPs provide a business-user-friendly way for marketers to manage and utilize customer data
- The market is shifting from the 'leads era' to the 'buying groups era' where B2B buyers are groups of people rather than individuals
- Eight vendors were evaluated in this Forrester Wave assessment
- Real-time data unification and identity resolution are critical for effective customer engagement
- AI capabilities are helping B2B CDPs unlock new levels of customer insights and create highly targeted audiences
- B2B CDPs integrate first-, second-, and third-party data sources to craft comprehensive views of buyers at contact, account, and buying group levels
What product features are required to be included in this year's evaluation?
- Provided strong support for standalone B2B CDPs. These vendors natively provide a comprehensive set of core B2B CDP functions.
- Generated a minimum of $10 million in annual revenue. Vendors included in this evaluation offer a proven product and generate $10 million or more in annual revenue attributable specifically to their standalone B2B CDP offerings.
- Mindshare among Forrester's enterprise customers. The vendors we evaluated are frequently mentioned in Forrester client inquiries, shortlists, consulting projects, and case studies.
- Sold a standalone B2B CDP. These vendors sell B2B standalone CDPs as a discrete offering rather than deliver it as an integral part of a larger solution.
What are the common features of top products in the B2B Customer Data Platforms space?
No common features specified.
Scope Exclusions
- Vendors that do not sell standalone B2B CDPs as discrete offerings
- Vendors generating less than $10 million in annual revenue from B2B CDP offerings
- Vendors delivering CDP only as integral part of larger solutions
- Vendors without comprehensive core B2B CDP functions
- Vendors lacking mindshare among Forrester's enterprise customers
Inclusion Criteria
Vendors must, among other requirements:
- Provided strong support for standalone B2B CDPs with comprehensive core functions
- Generated minimum $10 million in annual revenue from standalone B2B CDP offerings
- Demonstrated mindshare among Forrester's enterprise customers through inquiries and case studies
- Sold B2B CDP as a discrete standalone offering rather than integral part of larger solution
Offering Strengths — Relative Weighting
- Data integration and sources — 20%
- Data management — 15%
- Identity resolution and profiles — 20%
- Audience building and segmentation — 15%
- Journey orchestration and management — 10%
- Activation, next best action, and alerts — 10%
- Reporting — 5%
- Implementation and professional services — 5%
Strategy Strength — Relative Weighting
- Vision — 25%
- Innovation — 25%
- Roadmap — 15%
- Adoption — 15%
- Partner ecosystem — 10%
- Pricing flexibility and transparency — 10%
FAQs
Q: What does this research cover?
A: This research covers a comprehensive evaluation of eight standalone B2B customer data platform (CDP) providers based on 29 criteria grouped into three categories: Current Offering, Strategy, and Market Presence. The evaluation focuses on providers that natively provide comprehensive B2B CDP functions, generate minimum $10 million in annual revenue, have mindshare among Forrester's enterprise customers, and sell standalone B2B CDPs as discrete offerings.
Q: Who should use this research?
A: This research should be used by revenue operations professionals who need to select the right B2B CDP provider for their organization's needs. It is particularly valuable for organizations looking for solutions that offer real-time data unification and identity resolution, support buying groups, and use AI for insights, journey mapping, and next best action recommendations.
Q: What are the mandatory features of vendors included in this market?
A: Vendors must natively provide comprehensive core B2B CDP functions including data integration from multiple sources, identity resolution, audience building and segmentation, journey orchestration, and activation capabilities. They must demonstrate proven market presence with minimum $10 million annual revenue specifically from standalone B2B CDP offerings, show mindshare among enterprise customers through Forrester inquiries and case studies, and sell the CDP as a discrete standalone offering rather than bundled within larger solutions.
Q: What are some reasons for not being included in this report?
A:
- Insufficient annual revenue (less than $10 million from B2B CDP offerings)
- CDP not sold as standalone offering but only as part of larger platform
- Lack of comprehensive core B2B CDP functions
- Insufficient mindshare and presence in enterprise customer base
- Declined to participate or only partially participated in evaluation
- Did not meet materials submission deadline of October 2, 2023
Q: What should buyers consider when evaluating products in this market?
A:
- Real-time data unification and identity resolution for dynamic understanding of customer interactions across touchpoints
- Support for buying groups with expanded capabilities on roadmap to reflect B2B buyer complexity
- AI capabilities for insights, journey mapping, and next best action recommendations
- Ability to integrate first-, second-, and third-party data sources
- Comprehensive view of buyers at contact, account, and buying group levels
- Journey orchestration capabilities to optimize engagements and personalize experiences
- Predictive intelligence for proactive customer engagement through right channels at right time
Q: How has the B2B Customer Data Platforms market evolved in 2023?
A:
- B2B CDPs are leveraging AI to analyze vast amounts of data and identify trends impossible to detect manually
- AI enables creation of more precise customer segments based on demographics, firmographics, behavioral patterns, and predictive indicators
- Real-time AI analysis of engagement data provides immediate insights into customer preferences, interests, and potential objections
- Shift from leads era to buying groups era, requiring transformation to address groups of people working together rather than individual buyers
- AI capabilities enabling highly targeted audiences and insights-based journeys to maximize marketing and sales effectiveness
- Predictive intelligence recommending next best action for proactive, personalized customer engagement
Q: What differentiates Strength of Offering vs. Strength of Strategy?
A: Current Offering (vertical axis) evaluates the strength of the vendor's existing product capabilities including data integration, identity resolution, audience building, journey orchestration, and activation features. Strategy (horizontal axis) assesses the vendor's future direction and market approach through vision, innovation, roadmap, adoption rates, partner ecosystem strength, and pricing models. Market presence (marker size) reflects revenue and customer base specifically for B2B CDP offerings.
Reference
- Forrester, The Forrester Wave™: B2B Customer Data Platforms, Q4 2023, 12-Dec-2023, ID RES178456
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