• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, May 8, 2023

Research shows two major issues stand out when it comes to managing and activating data.

Brands often have too much data, and they lack the ability to use it effectively.

Bill Magnuson, co-founder and CEO of customer engagement platform Braze, believes it’s important to break down data silos to bridge teams and technology.

The company was build on the premise of mobile becoming the foundation for long-term engagement. Magnuson says siloed teams are a barrier to progress. Successful collaboration demands respect for varied perspectives that come with different skill sets.

"If the first generation of using data to drive loyalty and revenue meant breaking down silos and using data across the enterprise," he says. "The second has been to breakdown silos across teams and skill sets like marketing, product engineering and data teams."

Ten or 15 years ago, it made sense to outsource or put marketing teams in charge of email campaigns, but today the media needs companions based on how customers experience a company’s products and services, he says. “You need to integrate the strategy into the product experience. That means the marketing team must work closely with product engineering counterparts.”

Braze recently launched an integration with WhatsApp and now offers it as a marketing channel.

It also supports data integration into Snowflake, which it introduced in fall 2022. 

Despite inflation, instability and economic worries, 83% of global marketers said their companies marketing budgets will increase in the next 12 months, up from 60% in 2020.

After surveying 1,500 vice president and C-level marketing executives worldwide, Braze identified three key customer-engagement trends ready to shape the marketing landscape in 2023. The study revealed that brands are focused on retention and that data management remains a major challenge, and siloed teams are a barrier to progress and change.

Keeping existing customers happy is key to short-term success and long-term growth. The findings show that brands are increasing their focus on retention, and they have the budget to do so. In 2022, 45% of marketers said they spend more than half of their marketing budget on retention, up from 41% in 2021, and 33% in 2020.

Collaboration remains low across companies of all sizes. Some 28% of large companies with 2,500 or more employees collaborate across teams, only 21% of companies with less than 500 employees collaborate across teams, and just 16% of media companies with 500 to 2,500 employees collaborate across teams.

To thrive during periods of instability, marketers must take steps to better meet customer needs -- including provide exceptional consumer experiences, which requires collaboration across teams. Brands today recognize that need, with 99% of marketers say they will change their customer engagement strategies in the next 12 months.

Consumers will tighten their spending in the next year. Some 53% of marketers participating in the study said they will send more messages offering helpful advice, 49% will target customers based on financial indicators like household income, 37% will back on some promotional offers.

By combining both in product channels in-app messages with out-of-product channels such as email, brands saw a 55% increase in 90-day retention rates and 2.2 times average increase in purchases per user for each additional messaging channel used.

Braze -- which supports brands such as Burger King, Venmo, HBOMAX, KFC, among others by helping them build up first-party data -- released its third annual Global Customer Engagement Review to examine changes in customer engagement trends during the past three years, how marketers respond to today’s economic climate, and how strategies brands are leverage to stay competitive.

Ecommerce contributes about 25% to Braze’s revenue, but it also supports financial services, media and entertainment, gaming and more.

About 40% of revenue is generated outside the United States.