Centralised data management is the key to unlocking high-quality, personalised content experiences, according to a new study by Oracle and Forrester Consulting.
The cloud software company surveyed 337 marketing professionals to determine the role that data is playing in the delivery of digital experiences, and the findings suggest that brands are still struggling to bring everything together to support strategies and campaigns.
More than two-thirds believe that data should be used to create unified customer profiles, while a similar number said that they have deployed customer data platforms (CDPs) to try to get the job done.
CDPs allow marketers to understand customers by establishing a “single source of truth”.
Oracle found that the use of these platforms to create customer profiles can drive better business results, with higher rates of growth, customer lifetime values and profits among the upshots of deploying everything correctly.
However, only 11% of brands have been able to tap into all of the data types at their disposal to provide the tailored experiences that customers crave on a plethora of channels and devices.
Oracle CX executive Rob Tarkoff noted: “A solid data foundation is the most fundamental ingredient to success in today’s Experience Economy, where consumers expect relevant, timely and consistent experiences.”
Seven in 10 respondents said that unified profiles are of the utmost importance for personalisation, and 69% expect organisations to back up this view by increasing CDP investments next year and into 2021.
Concluding its report, Oracle urged marketers to forge closer ties with tech departments to improve data and analytics processes.
