Nowadays marketers are expected to be Jack-of-All-Trades and as such to have the knowledge of software stack from data management to marketing automation, as well as being able to navigate data sources and architect customer journeys accordingly. Not to mention the headache of understanding data processing architecture and shaping a digital strategy for the cookieless future at the same time.
LeverUP experts feel for you, so we’ve compiled a short glossary of MarTech – related abbreviations that will help you navigate the ever-evolving technology landscape and handle the conversation with your data analysts and customer experience team like a pro.
| Abbreviation | Name, Decrypted | Description / Functionality |
|---|---|---|
| CRM | Customer relationship management | CRM platform's main purpose is to track interactions between a company and its customers, to streamline sales-related processes and track the pipeline. By its nature, CRM is an operational tool aimed at automating routine business operations and improving pipeline visibility and collaboration across teams/departments. |
| CDP | Customer data platform | A platform that collects, manages, and unifies all forms of customer data, making it actionable. CDP’s primary focus is on first-party data, and therefore it helps customers to stay in compliance with privacy regulations. CDP is focused on identified individuals rather than anonymous data. E.g.: CRM is one of the data sources for CDP. |
| DMP | Data management platform | Similarly to CDP, DMP also collects and manages customer data from various sources, but DMP is more focused on third-party data obtained through cookies. The future of DMPs in a post-cookie world is uncertain. |
| DXP | Digital experience platform | With CMS platforms as its ancestor, DXPs provide a full suite of tools to orchestrate the delivery of content across a range of digital touchpoints, personalized by languages, geography, etc. DXPs do not deal with email and SMS communication though, as opposed to marketing automation platforms / CIMs.. |
| CIM | Customer interaction management | A unified platform for handling and personalizing omni-channel customer interactions across email, SMS, WhatsApp, and mobile push, as well as incorporating the interaction into customer journeys. |
| CXM / CEM | Customer experience management | Not to be confused with CRM: CXM, being both a set of technologies and a set of processes, is more focused on customer success and engagement rather than automating internal operational processes. With CXM, companies aim to achieve a real-time impact on personalized customer experience. |
| DAM | Digital asset management | With the growing number of digital interactions as well as customer expectations for personalized content, the importance of efficient digital assets management is skyrocketing. DAM tools allow users to upload, store, sort, and share digital assets across other platforms including DXPs, CXM, CIM. |
| ESP | Email service provider | The technology behind ESPs handles a wide range of functionalities, including delivery of email marketing communication as well as maintenance of opt-in information. You need to be familiar with the technology behind ESPs to make sure your marketing emails are reaching recipients' inboxes, and your deliverability ratings look healthy. |
| ETL | Extract, transform, load | ETL is the first step in the data integration process that brings together and transforms data from various sources to unify it, and therefore make it available for further usage in personalized customer journeys or analytics. ETL concept is important to understand with regard to planning data streams for CDP and CXM platforms. |
| DWH | Data warehouse | A repository of the company's structured and filtered data that comes from various sources, DWH might even be called an ancestor to modern CDP technology. A marketer who is aware of the data treasures stored in a company's DWH is already half-way to building a data-driven marketing strategy. |
