What Is Segment CDP (And How Does It Work)?

When you run a business — or even if you only market for one — data is everything. In particular, having data on your customers is essential, as it helps you identify who your target audience is, what they want, and how to more effectively sell to them.

That’s why so many businesses make a point of investing in a customer data platform (CDP) to help them track all of that information. If you’ve spent any time looking for a CDP for your own business, you’ve probably heard of Segment. It’s one of the best-known CDPs out there.

Of course, you likely have questions about Segment, such as:

• What is Segment CDP?
• How does Segment work?
• How much does Segment cost?
• Is Segment worth it?

Luckily for you, we’ll answer all of those questions further down the page!

What is Segment CDP?

First of all, what is Segment CDP? Segment is a customer data platform, which means it helps you gather and organize data about your customers (mostly first-party data, which means it comes from your company’s own interactions with those customers). Segment can also help you draw insights from that data.

How does Segment work?

Now that we’ve defined it, how does Segment work? Using Segment CDP gives you access to several notable features and capabilities, including:

1. Data collection and storage
2. Schema management
3. Identity resolution
4. Audience management
5. Data security and privacy

Let’s walk through each of those areas in more detail.

1. Data collection and storage

The main purpose of any CDP is to gather and store data, and Segment is no exception. It can pull customer data from multiple sources and consolidate it in a single location, making it way more convenient for you to access.

How exactly does that work, though? Segment uses both client-side tracking and server-side tracking, meaning it uses code that can pull customer data from both users’ browsers and from their direct interactions with your website (and app, if you have one). It focuses mainly on behavioral data, but it can also track things like demographics and location.

That data then gets stored in Segment’s database, where you can easily access and organize it as desired (using the other features explored below).

2. Schema management

Schema management refers to the format in which your data is gathered and stored.

In Segment, you can create a tracking plan, which is how you want Segment to collect your data — that is, which types of data you want to track and how you want Segment to label and categorize that data. You may find it helpful to create multiple tracking plans to cover different types of data.

Of course, that only applies to your data before it goes into Segment. After it does that, Segment will categorize all of that data based on its own schema, which means grouping each datapoint under either a user or an account object.

3. Identity resolution

When using Segment CDP, you’ll be pulling data from a lot of different sources. That means that if a given customer has interacted with you on more than one channel, you may end up with multiple user profiles for the same individual in Segment.

That’s where identity resolution comes in. Identity resolution is a feature of Segment that combines different sets of data belonging to the same customer. That means that if someone interacts with your business through email, social media, and your website, Segment will combine all of those interactions into one profile instead of having three separate ones.

Segment performs this task automatically using an exact match process, so it doesn’t require much (if any) work on your end.

4. Audience management

CDPs like Segment can be helpful for learning more about your customers so you can create more effective marketing campaigns.

But when you market to people, you don’t typically create specific marketing campaigns for specific individuals (unless you’re using account-based marketing, or ABM). Rather, you categorize people into different groups, and then create campaigns for each of those groups.

Segment makes it easy to do that with its audience-building capabilities. You can easily group people based on specific actions, traits, and more to track custom audiences you want to market to. Of course, in the event that you do want to market to individual accounts, you can also set up detailed tracking for specific users.

5. Data security and privacy

Customer data is pretty sensitive. The information you track about your users isn’t something you want an outside entity getting their hands on — that would be bad both for your business and for your customers. Thankfully, Segment keeps you from worrying about that thanks to its data security and privacy system.

Segment is GDPR- and ISO-compliant, making a point of protecting the data it holds from any hackers or bots that might try to break in and access it. That means you can sleep soundly knowing your customer data is safe.

How much does Segment cost?

Segment’s pricing varies depending on what plan you choose. The lowest plan is free, but the features of that plan are incredibly limited, so this option isn’t recommended for businesses. The next plan up starts at $120 per month. For anything above that, you’ll have to get a custom quote from Segment.

Is Segment worth it?

Having covered Segment’s definition, features, and pricing, we now come to one final question: Is Segment worth it?

The answer depends on your business needs and budget. Maybe you’re looking for CDP features that aren’t present in Segment, in which case you would be better off getting another tool. Or maybe Segment’s features are perfect for you, but it’s simply not in your budget.

On the other hand, maybe Segment has all the features you want and falls well within your budget. In that case, it’s a great option for you, as it is for so many other businesses that have been happy with this tool. Ultimately, though, only you can decide which CDP is right for you.

WebFX can help you drive more revenue with Segment

Have you chosen Segment as your company’s CDP? Great! Of course, now comes the hard part: Taking advantage of Segment’s capabilities to get deep customer insights and improve your marketing campaigns. If that’s something you could use some help with, WebFX has your back.

With over 29 years of digital marketing experience, we know exactly how to extract valuable information from raw customer data and apply that information to improve marketing campaigns and drive more revenue. We’d love to do that for your business through our Segment consulting services.

Interested in partnering with us? Just give us a call at 888-601-5359 or contact us online today to get started!