So says a new report, commissioned by Calabrio, which reveals that 85% of executives know that data and analytics are critical to informing sales and marketing changes within their business, yet 39% admit to relying too heavily on one data point.
The Business Transformation and Analytics: Driving Change in a Customer-Centric World study - which interviewed more than 1,000 C-level business executives in the UK and US - also shows that 68% of executives admit to avoiding a major change initiative unless there is a problem.
Business leaders know transformation is certain as 60% of respondents have made a significant sales or marketing change in the past 12 to 18 months, citing fluctuations in revenue (49%) and direct feedback from customers (39%) as the top initiators of those changes.
However, executives are informing decisions based on a limited set of data points that are often the easiest to derive. While revenue figures (36%) and social media (20%) are the most influential sources, companies lack the full insight to confidently and effectively drive change, the report claims.
Despite the heightened focus on customer experience, businesses still ignore sources that deliver the voice of the customer. Instead, executives draw opinions from biased sources such as ratings and reviews (49%) and social media (40%), while "democratised" sources such as contact centres remain relatively untapped (12%).
Calabrio EMEA general manager Kris McKenzie said: "While businesses are busy collecting information from more sources than ever before, many executives continue to question the validity of the data. With this level of distrust, the result is the underutilisation of data and analytics, a narrow view of what's actually happening in the business and, ultimately, unsuccessful changes made within the business.
"Instead, companies need to take a step back and understand the contact centre captures the true voice of the customer and should be used as the main source of customer insights that drive any business change."
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