Many companies are having trouble delivering personalized 1:1 content across various touch points such as web pages, and e-commerce channels, and mobile applications, email and social media are the only touch points through which a majority are able to deliver personalized content. That’s according to a new PwC and Forbes Insights report [download page], which finds that companies are prioritizing strong data collection and analytics in order to improve their ability to deliver personalized 1:1 content.
Beyond data analytics, many survey respondents are also trying to improve their content creation and distribution speed, as time is now being cited as a primary challenge to creating compelling content.
By comparison, relatively few are looking to improve their ability to measure the emotional impact of their content or its ability to drive specific behaviors. Presumably, though, heavier investment in analytical capabilities can help achieve those goals.
In terms of content lifecycle capabilities, the largest share of investments in the supply chain are tabbed for planning (21%) and creating (20%) content, with targeting (17%) and delivery (17%) not far behind. Reporting (12%) and optimizing (13%) are slated to see a smaller average share of content lifecycle investments.
Although research has found that marketers are having trouble measuring the ROI of content marketing, respondents to the PwC and Forbes Insights report largely agree that reporting and measuring effectiveness is either critical (44%) or important (50%) to their digital marketing efforts.
In order to justify their investments in marketing content, respondents (senior-level executives at large companies around the world) are most commonly using sales effectiveness measures such as leads, responses, meetings and proposals (41%), as well as media effectiveness (37%) and revenue (36%) measures. Slightly fewer (30%) are using brand differentiation as a measure, perhaps reflecting a shift (at least for B2B companies) towards sales and lead generation goals as opposed to brand awareness and engagement.
About the Data: The results are based on a survey launched by Forbes Insights and PwC of 369 senior-level executives at large companies around the world, from
North America to the Middle East. The survey was fielded in May and June 2015, and included respondents from the financial services, technology, retail, telecommunications, healthcare, and consumer products industries.
