Recognizing that most organizations face strategic hurdles as a result of ineffective data application, new research from CX platform provider Simon Data examines how marketers can optimize data to better meet their customers’ needs.
To better understand the divide between marketing objectives and data infrastructure, the firm commissioned Forrester Consulting to evaluate marketing data use cases, objectives, and supporting technologies. The resulting report, When Data Drags You Down: Maximize Marketing Objectives with Modern Data Infrastructure, reveals that 90 percent of marketers described that their strategy is aligned with the organization’s goals—but the same number reported challenges with delivering on those priorities.
“This study demonstrates the disconnect between what marketers think their martech stacks can do versus the actual outcomes the tech delivers,” said Jason Davis, CEO and co-founder of Simon Data, in a news release. “A majority of marketers view their capabilities as ‘advanced’ or better, but almost everyone in this same group cite limitations around achieving their objectives. When you dig into the issues, it all comes down to the data: data to coordinate channels, data to enable these capabilities, and data required to drive outcomes.”
The study went on to reveal that integration struggles and the inability to keep pace with customer interactions limit organizations from delivering to their fullest extent. A whopping 95 percent of marketers have experienced negative business impacts because of the marketing and strategy challenges they face. This includes missed market opportunities (39 percent), decreased customer satisfaction (38 percent), missed strategic growth opportunities (36 percent), increased costs (36 percent), and lowered engagement (35 percent). By addressing these shortcomings, businesses can prioritize closing this gap to preserve their brand reputation and boost their bottom line.
Other key findings from the report include a ranking of the most valuable tech capabilities. Eighty percent of marketers rate “Customer data integration across every end channel” as valuable—underscoring the need for solutions that enable organizations to move past internal silos and operate across a unified customer journey.
Download the full report here.
Forrester conducted an online survey with 465 respondents responsible for marketing technology strategy to analyze how data usage syncs with marketing priorities.
