The challenge for most firms is that the sheer volume, variety, and velocity of customer data continues to grow exponentially, making it seemingly impossible to know where to even begin and more difficult still to drive meaningful results with this emerging asset. The new study aims to help with both by examining where market leaders excel, where laggards struggle and where companies should focus to improve across six foundational dimensions of customer data maturity.
Data maturity research – Key findings
Data maturity is strongly linked to support of key business objectives: Companies identified with high data maturity reported that their customer data strategies position them to deliver exemplary support of key business imperatives like improving customer satisfaction, trust and revenue. Lower maturity companies reported lower support for these key business goals.
There are six key dimensions to data maturity:
- Strategy
- Organisational structure
- Data practices
- Analytics/Measurement methodology
- Supporting processes
- Integration/Activation technology
Only 16% of surveyed companies are able to excel across every category, with strategy and integration technology being the most common areas where firms fall short. These six dimensions provide a roadmap for companies to work against to increase maturity and better support business imperatives.
The particular importance of customer data integration: Customer data integration initiatives were found to have a number of benefits. Companies who reported instituting these initiatives are achieving a better understanding of their customers, increased productivity for marketing and analytics teams, better use of marketing budgets, all leading to improved results.
Plotting a course to high data maturity
By understanding the key dimensions of market-leading data programmes and your company’s own maturity, it’s possible to develop a strategy that not only will get customer data in order, but will also allow for that data foundation to enable for differentiation now and into the future. The study provides a blueprint and key recommendations for companies to assess their current maturity and strategise the next step.
Matt Parisi is senior manager, product marketing, Tealium. He has over ten years of strategic marketing experience across both traditional and digital marketing channels. His experience spans industries working both at consultancies and client-side.
