“There’s obviously a massive disconnect in what marketers want to do and what they’re focusing on, and then proving it’s effective,” said Stephen Morgan, co-founder of software company Squiz.
The survey also uncovered that identifying clear goals and KPIs for customer experience within a broader marketing strategy is still not taking place across the board, with less than one-third doing so. Most significantly, about half of the respondents (47 percent) stated that they do not have a mechanism for receiving and processing direct customer feedback.
The results of this survey are particularly surprising considering that nearly one-quarter of marketers consider optimizing the customer experience to be the most exciting opportunity for the year ahead, according to Econsultancy and Adobe’s “2016 Digital Trends” report. In fact, customer experience beat areas such as compelling content for digital experiences and data-driven marketing.
So – what are the implications of this survey for healthcare IT and other B2B marketers looking to prove ROI for customer experience initiatives?
Proving the ROI of customer experience initiatives is key to identifying their value and securing funding for these programs. By identifying and meeting (or exceeding) the right KPIs, ensuring that they align with overall business objectives and leveraging marketing automation, businesses cannot only secure new customers but create happier customers as well.
Morgan was summarizing the results of a recent study conducted by Squiz and B2B Marketing, which revealed that, while 45 percent of marketers name customer experience their top business priority, nearly the same percentage (47 percent) are struggling to prove its return on investment (ROI).
According to the study, proving ROI was by far, the biggest challenge when trying to acquire budget and other areas, such as lack of department alignment (15 percent), lack of c-suite buy-in (14 percent) and skills gaps within teams (9 percent) could be exacerbating the ROI issue.
The survey found that: