Consent Management Platforms (CMPs) are essential for businesses to balance effective marketing with data privacy compliance, especially with GDPR. CMPs help in obtaining, storing, and managing user consent, ensuring adherence to data privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA. They feature customizable consent banners, user consent preference management, and integration with digital assets. CMPs also provide analytics for better understanding user behavior and preferences. Criteria for choosing a CMP include regulatory adherence, integration, user experience, scalability, customization, analytical insights, and vendor ecosystem management.