Build or buy: Choose your own CDP adventure 

It’s a fact: harnessing customer data is essential for crafting personalized messaging that resonates with your audience. At its core, a CDP aggregates customer information from various tools and applications, creating comprehensive profiles that encompass both zero-party and first-party data. This empowers organizations to access rich, actionable insights for every customer segment.

However, knowing whether to build your own solution or invest in a third-party platform can be daunting. Each route has its own advantages and challenges, necessitating careful consideration based on your goals. Before you get started you'll want to define your objectives and identify the capabilities you need (for example, do you have industry or government compliance requirements, like HIPAA or GDPR?). Then, you'll need to assess what resources you have to set up and maintain your CDP. From there, you're ready to decide: build or buy? This guide will help you evaluate the best path forward.

Take a peek at what’s inside:

• The road less traveled: When building a CDP makes business sense. The main advantage of a DIY approach is total control. But you must also assume all the responsibility for building, implementing, and maintaining your CDP. Find out if you’re ready to take this route.
• The beaten path: Buying a CDP. If rapid implementation, flexibility, and ongoing support are priorities for you, then choosing a pre-built CDP might be the right choice. But keep in mind, the platform you choose should scale with you as you grow—and not all CDPs are created equal.