Report: Customer engagement hindered by poor marketing tech integration
- 03 October, 2014 17:26
Marketing technology may be advancing at lightning speed, but judging from the results of a new report, most marketers haven’t caught up and their customer engagement is suffering as a result.
Signal’s new Cross-Channel Marketing and Technology Survey found 53 per cent of marketers have steadily increased investment into technology over the past three years. However, fewer than 5 per cent of respondents reported having a fully integrated marketing technology stack.
Just over half are yet to integrate marketing technologies beyond the most basic level, and 50 per cent agreed that fragmented technologies are impeding their ability to create consistent experiences for consumers across the Web, mobile and other channels. Nearly two-thirds also agreed tools in their technology stack are underutilised.
Only 4 per cent of marketers said they felt well prepared to move forward with cross-channel marketing based on their technology stack capabilities, and just 9 per cent believed technology is their strength. Even as they struggle, however, 48 per cent of respondents said they have a “constant mission” to keep on top of what’s new.
Nine out of 10 believed connecting these disparate tools across the organisation would improve their ability to innovate, personalise consumer interactions, send timely messages, boost loyalty, evaluate campaigns and increase the return on marketing investment.
Automation and data management technologies top marketing tech list
As a result, 40 per cent said they are actively looking for platforms to connect the rest of their stack and enhance overall capabilities, although only 10 per cent said integration was one of their top considerations.
The survey of 281 marketers from 16 countries, including Australia, was undertaken by Signal in September. It found the average marketing stack consists of 17 or more tools.
“It’s not enough just to buy the latest technologies,” Signal CEO, Mike Sands, said. “In order to deliver cutting edge customer experiences, marketers need to improve coordination between their tools and power them with high-quality, up-to-the-minute data.”
Check out the full infographic of results here.
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