Economic uncertainty is impacting consumer sentiment and consumer spending. And, as if it wasn’t challenging enough to reach hesitant consumers, marketers’ budgets are now being cut, despite strong projections from earlier in 2022.
According to a new global survey on consumer and marketing sentiment from Treasure Data, 69 percent of U.S. marketers admit to already having made cuts to their budgets, and 81 percent are under greater pressure to prove ROI. In short, many marketers will be left with less budget to reach wary consumers who have less money to spend.
However, marketers are struggling with data inefficiencies that prevent them from making the most of their budgets. These data inefficiencies make it challenging to deliver the best possible customer experience. According to the report, three core data challenges emerged:
- Data blind spots. 74% of marketers surveyed acknowledged the presence of data blind spots in their organization that negatively impact their marketing efforts.
- Data quality. While the majority of marketers have access to identity, attribute and behavioral data, approximately 20% reported that it isn’t accurate or of high quality.
- Data wastage. 57% of marketers don’t feel equipped to get the most out of the data they use for marketing. This data wastage is particularly acute because marketing teams spend an average of 14.5 hours per week managing customer data collection, with 18% spending over 20 hours per week.
Getting the Most Value From Your Customer Data
Creating great customer experiences requires businesses to integrate insights from every touchpoint to create a dynamic understanding of who their customers are, and engage with them accordingly. By knowing exactly who they’re talking to, and evaluating how communications are resonating in real time, businesses can ensure that marketing dollars are spent efficiently.
Of the U.S. marketers surveyed, Treasure Data found that top priorities are providing a connected customer experience to retain customer loyalty (96%) and reduce wasted media spend (96%). Both of these priorities require efficient use of data.
To achieve data efficiency, consider these best practices to get the most value from your data:
- See the customer clearly. Customers interact with your business through multiple channels. You need to have a complete picture of your customers, the relationships they have with your brand, and which channels to prioritize when optimizing campaigns that meet the needs of your customers. A single customer view can help you see the full customer journey clearly, and identify the right audiences for precise segmentation.
- Ensure your data is secure, and compliant. Compliance with data privacy regulations and developing a consent management framework is essential to the success of a business. It also helps protect your customers and yourself.
- Create customer-centric teams. Your organization is probably already moving to break down silos, share information between departments, and consolidate data to shape the customer experience. It’s vital to the future success of the organization to have departments working together toward shared goals to achieve desired operational efficiency.
Economic uncertainty is impacting consumer sentiment and consumer spending, and marketing budgets are being reduced. This leaves many marketers with less budget to reach consumers who have less money to spend.
How can marketers stay ahead of the curve? Read on for some expert tips on marketing during an economic downturn.
