New Studies Consider Customer Acquisition, Experience

Customer acquisition is the top priority for brand marketers this year, according to results of a survey conducted by data asset management solution provider Bynder.

Results of the survey of 562 chief marketing officers and global brand managers indicate 72 percent are focused on audience building. In fact, building audiences is more important than direct sales for more than two thirds of those surveyed.

Meanwhile, 57 percent said marketing analytics is their top investment. Social media monitoring was the second most popular investment by this group, at 49 percent. And 45 percent said they will be investing in customer experience tools in 2017.

Despite all the talk about artificial intelligence, augmented reality, chatbots, and virtual reality this year, 65 percent of those surveyed said they will not invest in such solutions. However, within these categories:

• 360 video is the most common investment, with 19 percent indicating plans to spend money on it;
• virtual reality – which this group believes will have the biggest impact on marketing in the next few years – is next, at 14 percent;
• then chatbots, at 9 percent;
• 8 percent indicated plans to spend on beacon technology; and
• 7 percent expect to invest in augmented reality.

Meanwhile, 34 percent of those surveyed said that proving return on investment in marketing spend is a key challenge. Some of those surveyed also noted their challenges in enabling collaboration between departments, adapting to changing consumer behavior, and finding top talent.

Dimension Data also published a study this month. The 2017 Global Customer Experience Benchmarking Report, for which 1,351 organizations across the world provided input, indicates customer experience is the top strategic performance measure for 71 percent of them but only 13 percent of them say their organization delivers a top-notch customer experience.

Here are a few other statistics from the Dimension Data report:

• 81 percent say customer experience is a competitive differentiator,
• 92 percent say it can increase customer loyalty,
• 84 percent say it can lift revenue, and
• 79 percent say it can result in cost savings.