A huge number of companies harness customer data to drive growth today using Twilio Segment. Segment is one of the leading customer data platforms (CDP) today with over 25,000 companies as customers.
The Twilio Segment CDP is so popular because the brains behind the Segment company offer a tool that allows developers to easily integrate different pieces of their tech stack and then pull together various datasets from different business touch points, so they can glean actionable insights about their customer base to guide their business decision. With Segment, which was once a lot of disparate facts and figures, becomes powerful insights that can improve marketing and get shared across an organization.
Many people think of Segment as a tool for developers. However, the platform is actually an extremely powerful tool for marketers. Marketers can use the tool to track and understand the huge amount of data at their disposal and create better campaigns.
If you're a marketer and you want to get more out of your data by using Segment, consider hiring Segment professional services. A Segment consultant can help you use the platform in the best way possible to get the most out of your investment decision.
When it comes to using data in marketing, we believe Segment is the best option, and we can help you use it to its full potential. However, if you're a marketer and ask yourself, "What is a CDP?", it may help to better understand the tool and its power before you jump into working with a consultant to implement it.
For years, technology has helped marketers get more precise and effective with their efforts to reach potential buyers.
One of the newest technologies many marketers use is a CDP, like Twilio Segment, which, according to the CDP Institute, is "a packaged software that creates a persistent, unified customer database accessible to others' systems." Companies who use a data-centric tool like Segment tend to win at marketing, since they allow themselves to be guided by their CDP meaning marketing team members choose to use facts to guide their decisions, not hunches or assumptions. When using a CDP, marketers create campaigns based on what has worked before and avoid things proven to fail.
There are multiple types of CDPs, and even more use cases — but at their core, all CDPs gather and then unify customer data from across an organization so that it is usable to marketers. Some CDP examples include:
* Data CDPs
* Analytics CDPs
* Campaign CDPs
* Delivery CDPs
While CDPs are relatively new, marketers have long relied on martech resources to harness data. One of the most popular is the CRM, or "customer relationship management" platform. A CRM helps marketers (and other departments at an organization) optimize relationships with customers. Using a CRM, marketing teams can track leads, record interactions, monitor sales activity, and more.
When considering a CDP vs. CRM, a CDP is much more focused on helping marketing teams collect data and organize it to gather the specific insights they are looking for. It is not intended to help professionals manage or keep track of relationships with consumers. It may use data to guide how to interact with potential customers — but it doesn't serve as any type of log or reminder system. When you compare a CRM vs CDP, CRMs allow marketers to connect with people who might buy and foster relationships to create loyalty — but they don't necessarily infuse data from across an organization to help teams make smarter, more fact-based decisions.
Another type of marketing technology is the Data Management Platform or DMP. DMPs collect data from third-party sources like cookies and store it for marketing teams for some time. When comparing a CDP vs DMP, they differ in a few key ways:
* CDPs collect and use first-party data while DMPs use third-party data
* CDPs store data for a long time while DMPs only temporarily store and use third-party data
* CDPs have personalized data with customer information and DMPs use anonymous data
Segment Marketing is a CDP (not a CRM or DMP), and it helps you gather data over time to continuously improve marketing efforts.
There are several CDPs out there. Why is Twilio Segment the best? In reality, what sets Segment apart from other CDPs is that it integrates with a vast number of other martech tools. The robust Twilio segment integration catalogue is really what sets it apart from other options.
Integrations are so important for CDPs because the more tools a CDP can work with and talk to, the more data it can access, collect, record, and analyze. Segment integrations connect the platform with tools used by nearly every department at a company: from sales to support. The more concrete information you have as a marketer about the people buying from your company, the more precise and powerful your marketing efforts will be.
The Twilio Segment API can both collect and clean data from a slew of sources—and also make that data available to people across an organization. When integrated with other tools in your martech stack, Segment analytics, and Segment tracking capabilities enable you to track how efforts are working (or not). Every business connects with customers in different ways and at a number of touchpoints. The Segment API can likely connect to all of those touch points and make their data useful.
We love Segment and there is no doubt that it is powerful. And marketers should feel like it is a tool for them—not just developers. But Segment also IS a complex platform. For those not well-versed in tech, it can feel overwhelming. It can also be easy to overlook some of the ways that it could benefit your team. For that reason, it can help to hire a consultant to provide Segment services.
When you choose to use a consulting partner like the pros at Stitch, you can take advantage of the following skills and expertise:
* Segment setup: Have a consultant sign up for and set up your Segment account and handle Segment migration—they can get all of our data to the right place.
* Segment implementation: Rely on a pro to show your team members how to use Segment. Receive guidance about how to best start using the CDP, especially if you are replacing another martech tool with it.
* Segment strategy: A Segment consultant can come to your company and give you ideas about how to best use the platform so you're getting the best return on your investment in it.
* Segment integration: Get help making sure Segment works with all the tools in your martech stack
* Segment ongoing management: Have someone on hand as you continue to use Segment that can make sure you're always using it to its full capacity.
To learn more about what Segment services pro services offer, check out our Services Page, which outlines all we can do to help you master this tool.
Investing in any CDP or marketing tool like Segment can come at a cost for businesses—though Twilio Segment pricing options do include a version of the platform for free. However, if you pay for the tool and that tool works the way it should—that investment should more than pay off for your business. It makes sense to work Segment pricing into your budget since you know that the guidance it offers is intended to (positively) affect your bottom line. Segment pricing is similar to comparable platforms, like Mixpanel pricing. It includes different costs and options for different sized businesses and different goals. Read through the Segment pricing Reddit to get an idea of what a business like yours might pay for Segment and what it can provide your business
Here are some segment pricing examples and what you should know about using the tool at different pricing tiers:
* Segment's free plan is for small businesses and those just starting out. It includes 1,000 visitors per month, two sources, and 400 integrations.
* The second tier Segment business plan is called simply "Team." It costs t $120 per month and it includes and it offers prices starting at $120 and includes 10,00 visitors per month, 1 data warehouse destination and unlimited sources
* The top-tier Segment business plan pricing is totally customized and priced to fit your needs.
The cost of Segment—like Segment personas pricing—can be separate from the cost of the CDP, depending on your plan, so consider as part of your Segment pricing strategy whether you want to use additional features when determining your cost. Segment Univeristy is included in the price of any Segment plan, including the free one.
If you plan to use Segment for your business and you are hoping to find out the price to factor it into your budget, you may also want to consider the cost of segment support plans, like what we offer at Stitch. Getting a Segment pro to help you use the tool to its full capacity could mean that it will generate significantly more income for you.
Segment doesn't only offer marketers tools like their CDP that help them improve marketing efforts. They also offer a slew of educational resources to help them use that CDP to its fullest potential. In addition to getting the help of Segment professional services yet, Segment makes it easy to do some mastering of the tool on your own.
One of the company's best resources is Segment University. Segment University is an online library of courses and learning opportunities that teach about the Segment CDP—from the basics for beginners, to the most advanced features for marketers.
In addition to Segment University, you can also take advantage of learning opportunities, like Segment Recipes: a catalog of different ways other Segment users have used Twilio Engage, (formerly known as Segment Personas), which is a customizable presentation platform from Twilio Segment that allows you to take data from across your organization's platforms to create informative and useful audience profiles.
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