Treasure Data: CDPs No Longer a Luxury But a Martech Staple
Customer data platforms (CDPs) have evolved from being an emerging technology to becoming the centerpiece of the martech stack, demonstrating the maturation of the technology from powerful tool to critical solution, findings from a new survey by enterprise CDP provider Treasure Data show.
The importance of CDPs is best represented by the amount of time it takes for brands to see a full return on investment (ROI), equating to just eight months on average. Moreover, enterprises are bullish overall on CDP prospects going forward, with 99% of survey respondents expecting their CDP solutions to assume greater significance within the next two years, says Mountain View, California-based Treasure Data, whose Customer Data Cloud CDP solution integrates customer data and connects identities in unified customer profiles.
Related Article: Treasure Data Secures $234 Million from Lead Investor SoftBank
For respondents, a CDP’s most important qualities are data security (68%), integration with other technologies in the tech stack (61%), and data privacy compliance (60%)—ahead of the ability to scale with data needs (55%) and identity management and resolution (46%).
Future benefits that respondents hope to derive from CDPs include using the technology to gain advanced insights via machine learning (46%), to lessen reliance on IT teams (43%), to achieve operational efficiency (tied at 43%), and to obtain inputs for supply chain management (34%).
Neustar: Contact Solutions Help Companies Realize Better CX and Other Benefits
A new study from identity resolution provider Neustar states that an effective multichannel outbound communications strategy aligning both voice and digital channels is critical to business success.
While business and IT executives surveyed across nine industries agree that the phone is the most important outbound contact channel, significant obstacles exist in using the phone to reach customers who are not answering calls partly because of concerns over fraud, robocalls, and call spoofing, according to Sterling, Virginia-based Neustar in its study, The State of Outbound Communications in 2022.
However, companies that have adopted contact strategies leveraging the behavioral insights of their customers and their calling habits have seen many benefits, including increased answer rates, improved right-party contacts, greater operational efficiency, heightened CX, and growth in revenue, the study findings show.
Adopters of customer contact solutions also report better CX and customer satisfaction (68%), greater regulatory compliance (62%), and improved customer retention (57%). These benefits translate into increased revenue through reduced costs, greater efficiency, and happier customers. Rebuilding trust in outbound communications requires a focus on customer contact solutions that increase transparency and contact intelligence capabilities to create more customer-centric outbound contact strategies, the study declares.
Emplifi: Operational Efficiency Is a Priority in 2023
Attaining operational efficiency is a top strategic goal in 2023 for marketing leaders in the face of rising economic uncertainty, says Emplifi. A new study from the CX platform provider indicates that changing customer demands, macroeconomic pressures, and the need for an integrated platform to host customer data are among the challenges facing marketers as they adapt to new channels and technologies for communicating their message and engaging with customers.
Near-term hiring goals spotlight social media strategy, and customer marketing professionals are among the most heavily recruited roles by marketing leadership. Moreover, a higher percentage of professional positions in paid media, social commerce, and social video still need to be filled, indicating that the roles could be newer—but growing—department functions.
The study from New York City-based Emplifi also shows that traditional advertising budgets are being cut in favor of digital marketing.Out-of-home advertising, such as billboards, will take the biggest hit, with 37% of marketers planning to trim in this area during the next 12 months. In comparison, social media advertising and marketing make up the smallest percentage of budget cuts at just 14%.
At the same time, investment in social media marketing technology is expanding. Approximately three-quarters of respondents are prioritizing social or digital advertising tools, while 66% are investing in social media marketing platforms. Similarly, investment in video marketing and tools will increase to strengthen CX.
Two Gartner Reports Place Their Focus on the Customer
The customer is the focal point and subject of interest of two separate Gartner reports released recently. In the first report, Gartner says insurers will put emphasis on improving CX in 2023. In the second report, Gartner reveals that customer data and analytics is deemed this year as being important to organizational success.
In the first report surveying insurance CIOs and technology executives, Gartner discloses that CX and operational excellence—not growth—will serve as the driving force this year for a majority of insurance digitization initiatives, making customer service an integral part of the service equation as insurers face a possible economic downturn and seek to provide more value to stakeholders.
More than half of CIOs are increasing technology investments in 2023, the report adds, with the most common areas being application modernization, cybersecurity/information security, and business intelligence/analytics. New digital demands will also spur a call for foundational enhancements, such as improved security, an area of investment neglected in the past by insurers.
Automation will continue to be a necessity, but insurers will need to apply automation tools to support areas that were previously overlooked or considered too complex. And while many companies have a good automation foundation in place thanks to high investments in the past, much more investment is needed to support advanced digitalization strategies.
In the second report, Gartner reveals that 84% of customer service and service support leaders cite customer data and analytics as being “very or extremely important” for achieving their organizational goals in 2023. And in the near future, customer service and support leaders plan to devote more resources to improving, automating, or eliminating inefficient processes (59%), migrating service volume to digital and self-service channels (51%), and contributing to the top-line by creating customer value (46%).
Acxiom Research: Personalization Will Transform Automotive Industry
A new study from customer intelligence firm Acxiom Research states that data-driven personalization will be a key factor to transforming the automotive industry, delivering better offerings and providing seamless, individualized experiences that then influence what brands people buy and drive.
While today’s automotive customers expect auto advertisers to furnish messages tailored to their interests, just slightly more than half (55%) feel their website experience was personalized as they looked to purchase a vehicle. Meanwhile, 74% reveal that the level of personalized CX they experience when buying a vehicle would influence their choice of brand in their next vehicle purchase. Furthermore, 31% of respondents say the seamlessness of the CX influenced their last vehicle purchase, and 34% say they would have bought a different car if the CX had been smoother and more personalized.
Related Article: Personalization Is Important, but Marketers Face Many Obstacles
The research also reveals that brands could be leaving money on the table. The study’s survey respondents say a more personalized experience in an automaker’s financing and insurance (F&I) office during the last time they purchased a vehicle would have influenced their decision to buy additional F&I products and make them consider other financial products, like auto and home insurance.
At the same time, people are also not interested in paying too much money for CX, the report adds. For those deciding to buy electric vehicles (EVs), more than half (60%) say the ability to charge outside the home is important, and 44% say the personalization of the charging experience is crucial to purchasing a vehicle powered by electricity.
Changes in consumer behavior mean that now, more than ever, automotive brands should invest in their CX strategy and capabilities, not just during purchase but at every step of the customer journey, notes Acxiom.
Author Information
Alex is responsible for writing about trends and changes that are impacting the customer experience market. He had served as Principal Editor at Village Intelligence, a Los Angeles-based consultancy on technology impacting healthcare and healthcare-related industries. Alex was also Associate Director for Content Management at Omdia and Informa Tech, where he produced white papers, executive summaries, market insights, blogs, and other key content assets. His areas of coverage spanned the sectors grouped under the technology vertical, including semiconductors, smart technologies, enterprise & IT, media, displays, mobile, power, healthcare, China research, industrial and IoT, automotive, and transformative technologies.
At IHS Markit, he was Managing Editor of the company’s flagship IHS Quarterly, covering aerospace & defense, economics & country risk, chemicals, oil & gas, and other IHS verticals. He was Principal Editor of analyst output at iSuppli Corp. and Managing Editor of Market Watch, a fortnightly newsletter highlighting significant analyst report findings for pitching to the media. He started his career in writing as an Editor-Reporter for The Associated Press.
