Linking data and success: Companies failing to back up objectives with stats


The majority of customer data strategies do not support the achievement of key business objectives, according to new research.


Tealium has announced findings from a new global study conducted by Forrester Consulting, into the state of customer data strategies for businesses. The results reveal that while almost nine in 10 organisations have some level of strategy in place, many struggle to impact key business outcomes effectively.

The research, which surveyed 330 decision makers at companies across the globe – including the US, UK, France, Germany, and Japan – looked at businesses’ approach to using customer data to drive customer satisfaction, increase revenue, implement better data governance, and improve profitability.

The survey confirms all companies can significantly benefit from employing a robust customer data strategy, but the most data-mature firms are more likely to enjoy the advantages of their efforts. More than four-fifths (83%) of pioneer companies in the survey claim to have a better understanding of their customers following the implementation of a customer data integration initiative and three-quarters (75%) say they experience increased marketing and analytics team productivity as a result.

However, many organisations feel their current approach is insufficient in supporting their key business objectives. Less than half say they are very well supported by their customer data strategies to win new customers (43%), improve customer trust (47%), improve data governance and compliance (43%), and increase revenue per customer (40%).

Furthermore, just a sixth (16%) of the companies studied were categorised as ‘pioneers’ for overall customer data management, meaning they are able to analyse data in real time at the point of customer interaction, leveraging insight based on strong infrastructures that make insights actionable. Even fewer (8%) are able to use their data analytics programmes to inform every customer touchpoint and interaction, feeding back continuously into decision making across their entire organisation.

The findings indicate that companies struggle with coordinating their customer data activation tools and capabilities. In the survey, only 6% of companies have their customer data or analytics output activated across multiple core functions in a coordinated manner, such as marketing, customer service, sales, operations, and product development. This highlights a potential missed opportunity to deploy actionable insights throughout the business to deliver seamless interactions across customer touchpoints.

Adam Corey, CMO at Tealium said: “There has been a surge in the amount of customer data available in recent years, which is hugely valuable to businesses across all sectors. However, the sheer volume of accessible information and the issue of data silos can make it difficult for organisations to collate, analyse, and utilise insights in a worthwhile manner. It is clear from these findings that more support is needed for businesses to get a handle of the data they collect and ensure they are able to meet goals across the entire company – not just their marketing function.

“To achieve genuine customer data maturity, companies need to plot a deliberate course to success that addresses strategy, organisation structure, data, analytics and measurement, processes, and technology, such as a Customer Data Platform. Once companies have the right infrastructure in place, they can truly harness the benefits of a clear data strategy to drive success.”

The survey was conducted between July 2018 and January 2019. The survey was conducted online with 330 customer intelligence leaders at organisations in North America, Europe, and Japan.

View the full study here.

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