Top bosses ‘rely on limited data’ to drive business change

Mar 26, 2018 | Digital marketing skills

Organisations ignore crucial sources of customer feedback, thus missing out on opportunities to meet customer expectations, according to new research.

A new study “Business Transformation and Analytics: Driving Change in a Customer-Centric World,” reveals 85 percent of executives know that data and analytics are critical to informing sales and marketing changes within the business, yet 39 percent admit to relying too heavily on one data point. What’s more troubling, 68 percent of executives admit to avoiding a major change initiative unless there is a problem.

Commissioned by Calabrio, a leading provider of customer engagement and analytics software, the study surveyed more than 1,000 C-level business executives in the U.K. and U.S., to explore the factors that compel change, and identify the data sources they use to inform decisions.

Other key findings include:

  • 60% of respondents have made a significant sales or marketing change in the past 12 – 18 months, with nearly half (49%) citing fluctuations in revenue as the top initiator of this
  • Businesses still aren’t tapping into the vital source that allows them to deliver what customers want, as less than a quarter (23%) said customer feedback is how they solve a crucial problem to a product or service
  • When considering customer opinion, executives draw opinions to inform change from biased sources such as ratings and reviews (49%) and social media (40%)

Business leaders know transformation is certain as 60 percent of respondents have made a significant sales or marketing change in the past 12 – 18 months, citing fluctuations in revenue (49 percent) and direct feedback from customers (39 percent) as the top initiators of those changes.

However, executives are informing decisions based on a limited set of data points that are often the easiest to derive. While revenue figures (36 percent) and social media (20 percent) are the most influential sources, companies lack the full insight to confidently and effectively drive change.

Despite the heightened focus on customer experience, businesses still ignore sources that deliver the voice of the customer. Instead, executives draw opinions from biased sources such as ratings and reviews (49 percent) and social media (40 percent), while democratised sources such as the contact centre remain relatively untapped (12 percent).

Download the full report, “Business Transformation and Analytics: Driving Change in a Customer-Centric World.”
Source: http://www.calabrio.com/

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