A 360-degree, data-driven view of customers is key to improving the customer experience (CX), and has been seen to be one of the critical future elements of CX. While a single customer view has proven elusive for B2C marketers in the past, research [download page] from Demand Metric and Align BI finds that high-performing B2B organizations are making headway in that quest.
The survey was fielded among 318 marketers at mostly B2B (53% share) or both B2B and B2C (47%) firms, and for the purposes of the analysis, segregated the respondents into three groups: Star Performers (the 40% of the sample who exceeded their goals); Core Players (the 41% who met or achieved their goals); and Under Performers (the 19% who missed their goals).
Overall, fewer than half (45%) of the sample rated their ability to have a 360-degree view of their customers as near complete or complete. However, the results were more confidence-inducing among Star Performers: two-thirds of this group said that their ability to have a 360-degree view of the customer was complete (21%) or near complete (47%). That compares with just 18% of Under Performers, suggesting a link between this ability and company performance.
Of course, there were several other areas in which Star Performers also outshone their peers. One relates to the confidence they have in the accuracy of their marketing metrics: 71% of Star Performers reported significant (49%) or complete (22%) trust or confidence in their metrics, a vast difference from the 15% of Under Performers who reported that level of confidence.
Moreover, Star Performers are forging ahead with their use of Media Mix Modeling (MMM), with 7 in 10 using it either exclusively (19%) or in combination with attribution (51%) to track the results of marketing activity. Almost 9 in 10 say their use of marketing attribution does well or very well in helping drive optimization decisions.
Not surprisingly, high performers are also better able to report on ROI than others. Fully 87% of Star Performers are able to report on channel level ROI, either by matching results to finance data (52%) or to spend (34%). By comparison, fewer than half as many (40%) laggards are able to do so, with one-quarter having no ability at all to report on ROI.
Confidence in tools needed for marketing measurement helps, and this is another area of difference unearthed in the study. Whereas about 8 in 10 Star Performers have most (57%) or all (24%) of the tools they need to track the results of their marketing activity, only about one-quarter (24%) of Under Performers can say the same. Additionally, 84% of high achievers believe they’re effective (57%) or very effective (27%) at using the marketing measurement tools and technology they have at their disposal, versus one-quarter (25%) of laggards.
For more, download the report here.
About the Data: The survey was fielded in November 2022 and received 373 responses, 318 of which were qualified and complete enough for inclusion in the analysis. Some 77% of respondents work at companies with at least 100 employees, and two-thirds (68%) are at companies with more than $100 million in annual revenues.
