Commentary

Data Detour: Lack Of Teamwork Impairs Both Access And Marketing At Most Firms

Email teams need look no further than the surrounding offices to figure out why they are not getting good customer data.  

Only 18% of firms say all their units using data are completely collaborative, while 64% acknowledge that they are struggling to share customer data across departments, according to Evolve Your Data Practices To Stay Ahead Of The Competition, a study by Forrester, sponsored by Amperity.  

This problem may be exacerbating other data challenges. The respondents admit the following:

  • We want to make better use of the data that exists — 81%
  • We struggle to take insight-driven action in real-time — 79%
  • I think we underutilize our customer data — 77% 
  • We struggle to streamline our customer data and derive valuable insights from it — 76% 
  • We struggle to manage the various customer data sources across the organization — 66%
  • We struggle to collaborate and share customer data across departments — 64% 
  • We want to continue to incorporate a richer mix of data sources — 63% 

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All this can have a negative effect on an enterprise company, with consequences that email marketers know all too well, although they rarely are responsible for them: 

  • Loss of revenue — 56%
  • Missed market opportunities — 54%
  • Lower engagement — 52%
  • Inability to keep up with competitors — 52%
  • Missed strategic growth opportunities—52%
  • Decreased customer loyalty — 48%
  • Increased costs — 42% 

Moreover, brands rate themselves as only average, fair or poor at using data for the following:

  • Create a 360-degree view of the customer — 56%
  • Improve segmentation/targeting for customer acquisition — 53%
  • Improve the ROI/effectiveness of marketing — 51% 
  • Elevate the role of marketing within the company — 50%
  • Improve our use of analytics (including marketing measurement and customer insight) — 50% 

Then there are the technical challenges: 

  • Difficulty translating customer insights into actionable marketing outcomes — 67%
  • Reliance on legacy systems/outdated technology — 63%
  • Processes that take too long to complete (e.g.—analyses, design, launch) — 57% 
  • Lack of integration among various customer data sources — 56% 
  • Lack of integration among various marketing technologies — 52%
  • Not utilizing technology to its fullest extent/not knowing if we’re using to its fullest extent—49% 
  • Difficulty maintaining a single source of truth about the customer — 48%

Finally, 60% have difficulty hiring, retaining and organizing their marketing staff. And 57% are restrained by lack of budget.  

Don’t reach for the sleeping pills just yet — there are many benefits to gaining full data access for everyone. Among them: 

  • Ability to proactively address customer experience issues before they escalate — 55% 
  • Ability to assure management that our marketing function lives up to the company's standards — 52% 
  • Competitive advantage — 50% 
  • More contextual customer engagement — 50%
  • Competitive advantage — 50% 
  • More contextual customer engagement — 50%
  • Increased cross-sell/upsell — 47%
  • Before collaboration across departments/business functions — 47%
  • More personalized/relevant interactions — 46% 

Forrester surveyed 206 marketing data strategy, operations and technology decision makers at enterprise companies in December 2021.

Of these, 30% were in the U.S., 25% in the UK, 20% in Canada, 17% in Australia and 8% in New Zealand.

In addition, 56% were from firms with 1,000 to 4,999 employees, 30% in those with 5,000 to 19,999 and 11% in companies with 20,000+ employees.

1 comment about "Data Detour: Lack Of Teamwork Impairs Both Access And Marketing At Most Firms".
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  1. James Smith from J. R. Smith Group, June 30, 2022 at 2:19 a.m.

    It continues to amaze me how these firms continue to publish research, often multi-national, with such low sample sizes! The generalizability/projectability of findings is, to put it mildly, weak.

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