Optimizing the Customer Experience Named Most Exciting Marketing Opportunity of 2016

According to the “2016 Digital Trends” report from Econsultancy and Adobe, 22 percent of marketers consider optimizing the customer experience to be the most exciting opportunity for the year ahead, edging out other areas of focus such as creating compelling content for digital experiences and data-driven marketing.

Personalization (31 percent), content optimization (29 percent) and social media management (25 percent) are all goals for marketing professionals who are striving to offer unique customer experiences. In terms of strategic priorities, 53 percent placed data-driven marketing at the top of their lists for 2016.

“The drumbeat of customer experience continues to sound, though it is increasingly accompanied by an emphasis on data,” said Econsultancy’s Vice President of Research Stefan Tornquist. “Increasingly, a goal of the former sets the priority of the latter. The drive to better understand and serve customers is real and evident in the data.”

Approximately 37 percent of respondents claimed that they were satisfied with their ability to attract and keep analysts to break down their data.

Finding Resources for Marketing Data Analysis

As marketers discover a wealth of customer data, they are seeking more resources to analyze the information at their fingertips. The “Path Forward: Marketing’s Outlook into the Digital Future” white paper published by the CMO Council found that 83 percent are seeking specialized solutions to manage customer data. They are also looking for resources not found at traditional ad agencies to personalize marketing communications and exploit new channel and device choices.

Approximately 46 percent claim that their companies are “fair” at tackling the data explosion. About 26 percent stated that they are “poor” at analyzing data to create personalized experiences.