Marketers Find Limitations in Data When Analyzing Target Customers

New research shows that marketers are harnessing data on their prospects and customers, but not all of them have a comprehensive view of their target audience.

The CMO Council recently published the “Customer Experience Dynamics” report to gauge how marketers are utilizing data and analytics. Just 39 percent of marketing leaders said they had “total access” to a comprehensive view of their target customer, based on insights aggregated from across their organization.

Thirty-eight percent stated that their data is “limited” to their own functional silos. In addition, it is not analyzed in real-time – access to data often requires assistance from other groups and IT assistance, which can be costly and time-consuming.

“Once the CX ecosystem has been defined, it must be powered with insights and intelligence about the customer,” wrote the authors of the report. “This cannot be a piecemeal nugget that requires IT to access. It also cannot be trapped behind silo walls that are reinforced by corporate politics.”

Approximately 20 percent of marketers believe they need more actionable insights from data and analytics in order to improve the customer experience.

The “Customer Experience Dynamics” report was conducted in partnership with SAP Hybris and SellingPower magazine.

Marketing Strategies and Data Quality

Previous research indicates that marketers not only want to improve access to data and analytics, but the quality of it as well.

The “Marketing Data Quality Trends” report from Ascend2 discovered that the majority of marketers (62 percent) believe improving data quality is essential to a successful marketing data strategy. Forty-five percent claim that improving marketing data analytics is also essential, while 44 percent see integrating sales and marketing data as essential.

Overall, 83 percent of marketing influencers consider their marketing data strategies successful to some extent, with 34 percent believing it is “very successful.”