• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, June 29, 2022

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% 

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• Reliance on legacy systems/outdated technology — 63%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.