Data issues ‘stifling efforts to improve personalisation’

mobile 2Personalisation might be viewed as the holy grail of marketing – perfectly fitting the right time, right place, right audience mantra – yet for most marketers it is still as elusive as ever, with a new study revealing that poor data management is the main roadblock to better personalisation.

The research, carried out by digital agency Organic, found that less than 1 in 5 (18%) businesses believe they successfully implement personalisation, yet only 13% think that is because of strategy, proving that implementing the strategy to improve personalisation is the problem.

The research involved surveying 250 senior marketers at small to large businesses from across the UK to discover their attitudes towards personalisation, its benefits and whether their organisation is achieving it.

With this in mind, marketers said their main focus for improving personalised communications was content, with 42% naming better customer content as their first fix, instead of overhauling their data strategy.

In addition, 39% stated that being able to serve more appropriate and valuable content to users is the most important aspect of personalisation; 35% said it gives them a better understanding of their customers; and 30% believed it adds relevance to customer touchpoints.

The panel of marketing professionals also revealed that their other biggest challenges when trying to deliver personalised customer experiences are using data effectively (39%); inadequate technology (30%); the cost of personalisation solutions (27%); lack of skills in the business (26%) and lack of first-party data (25%).

Further analysis also revealed issues around siloed data, and compliance with data regulations – making it clear that marketers believe data issues are stifling their efforts to improve personalisation.

These findings should be viewed as an opportunity to help solve the problems that are present on the journey to personalisation, Organic maintains.

The agency’s head of client services Tim Burley said: “While most marketers are well aware of the value that personalisation can add, excellence remains an elusive goal for too many.

“Getting control of the right technology, data and content requires a range of skills, and finding the right partner is often vital.”

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