New Era of Marketing: Customer Experience Optimisation is Key

New research has unvealed customer experience optimisation as a high priority in "new era of marketing".

A vast majority of 96 per cent of the companies that took part in a new global marketing survey have called customer experience optimisation "important".

And 41 percent added that this is now a "high priority" for their business.

New era of marketing

The inaugural Econsultancy Customer Experience Optimisation report by data management provider Ensighte looked at how organizations are responding to approaching customer centricity by harnessing data and technology.

This is a very timely topic considering that the first truly digital generation is about to become the largest group of customers for businesses.

Nearly all firms questioned, 94 percent, felt that customer experience optimisation will result in higher engagement and conversion rates, and 66 percent also named better brand perception as part of the resulting upside.

Bola Awoniyi, research analyst at Econsultancy said "we have entered a new era of marketing".

He explained: "Data and marketing technology now afford unprecedented opportunities for developing a more customer-centric approach.

"Focusing on developing customer experiences can create a more loyal and engaged customer base which is an extremely valuable competitive advantage in today's fast-paced commercial environment."

Data harnessing challenges

The report also assessed the challenges companies face in improving their capabilities in this area and found that the vast and complex datasets businesses need to manage as one of the most prominent ones.

Nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of the businesses questioned explained that they often feel overwhelmed by the volume of incoming data, and 85 percent are unable to extract the full value from the data sources they have access to.

Just 3 percent of businesses claim they have a strong capability when it comes to using cross-channel or cross-device data for either real-time website or mobile app personalisation.

Boaz Ronkin, SVP of Product at Ensighten, added: "Marketing organizations continue to struggle with large data and technology silos, as well as with shortage of talent to overcome them.

"To maximize the return on investment in their marketing technology stacks, CMOs must look for integrated solutions that excel at joining disparate systems, rather than add new standalone systems into the mix."