Customer experience (CX) is a big priority for most businesses. Many leaders believe that they know their clients, but this belief means little if their customers feel otherwise. According a Merkle Report entitled “The State of Customer Experience Transformation,” businesses might not understand their customers as well as they think they do. Although 86% of business leaders stated that their firms already understood and met their clients’ needs, their customers simply don’t agree.
What is causing this disconnect? Although today’s businesses are investing a lot of money in understanding their customers and are collecting a huge amount of data on them, their insights on customers’ overall experiences are limited. Basically, they lack the contextual data that is required to deliver a meaningful customer journey.
Barriers to the Customer Experience
Siloed systems remain a huge barrier to a positive customer experience. SMG/CMSWire’s 2021 Digital Customer Survey reveals that many businesses are contending with siloed systems and/or fragmented customer data. Nearly a quarter of respondents admitted that they had limited insights into their customers’ needs or journeys.
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Delivering the best possible CX is more complicated than ever before, thanks to the speed with which customers’ needs are changing. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic—which is unfortunately still very much a thing—has done nothing to slow down these shifts. The world has changed, customers have changed in response, and businesses have no choice but to go with the flow. In today’s world, delivering intelligent and relevant messaging is all about connecting this messaging to a customer’s individual records. This is where contextual data comes in.
Harnessing the Power of Contextual Data
According to this blog by Jacob Britt of Aceyus, context can improve sales as well as customer retention. Contextual data offers the following benefits:
Statements, invoices, policies, and other documents are incredible sources of customer data, and they basically serve as snapshots of an individual customer’s unique journey. The data in these documents is legal and accurate, and combining more than one data snapshot from a single customer can offer insight into how their journey has progressed over time. You can also compare their data with that of similar customers to create a profile of likely next steps or behaviors.
By using contextual data to improve customer communications, you can help lead your customers toward the next best action while also fostering an increased sense of loyalty. In addition, this data can be used to identify customers with a high churn rate and then determine the best post-composition actions. An improved CX can reduce the risk of churn. And thanks to artificial intelligence, the technology for analyzing contextual data is getting better all the time.
Our Take
Keypoint Intelligence is currently fielding its 2021 enterprise research on marketing and promotional communications. Expected to be available later this year, the findings from this research will offer a great deal of insight on the evolution of the customer experience and how contextual data can be used to deliver personalized communications that are truly relevant to recipients. Data is the key to improving the customer experience, but simply collecting this data is not enough. It must be used to deliver contextual and relevant messaging that will resonate with customers based on where they are in their purchasing or decision-making journey.
For more information about the complete findings from our 2021 Marketing Communications Business Research, please contact your Keypoint Intelligence account representative or send an email to sales@keypointintelligence.com.
