Customer data strategies failing to support business goals, says study

New global research, conducted by Forrester Consulting and commissioned by Tealium, has revealed that while nine in 10 companies have a customer data strategy in place, less than 10% see a positive impact of this on their overall business goals.

The research, which surveyed 330 decision makers at companies across the globe – including the US, UK, France, Germany, and Japan, found that despite the strong correlation between customer data maturity and business success, few enterprises are ready to implement an effective customer data strategy.

According to the study, only 43% of organisations in EMEA think their customer data strategies support them in winning new customers; 47% believe it improves customer trust; while a mere 40% said it supports an increase in revenue per customer.

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“There has been a surge in the amount of customer data available in recent years, which is hugely valuable to businesses across all sectors,” said Adam Corey, CMO at Tealium. “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.”

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Just 16% of the enterprises 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.

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Andrew Ross

As a reporter with Information Age, Andrew Ross writes articles for technology leaders; helping them manage business critical issues both for today and in the future