Survey Shows Majority of Marketers Fail to Meet Consumers’ Expectations for Customer Engagement

Customer engagement thought leader identifies 60% of marketers still rely on single-channel customer engagement strategies, despite consumer demand for omnichannel experiences

While the news is filled with ecommerce and retail concerns over how to best engage with customers to increase conversion and to create loyalty, Maropost’s inaugural industry survey has identified a large gap in the importance marketers place on managing customers, and the strategies and technology most use to connect and engage with customers. The stats are based on a survey of hundreds of senior digital marketing decision-makers at consumer-facing SMB companies in the US and Canada.

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Findings also show that while most marketers list the ability to capture all customer signals across multiple touchpoints as the most valuable customer engagement initiative, only 4% have a true single customer view, despite two-thirds of respondents reporting that they do. And 82% use more than one platform to manage their email marketing, customer engagement and commerce/storefront.

Other key findings include:

• 95% of marketers agree customer expectations are increasing
• Only 37% of marketers say they effectively create an omnichannel customer experience
• Lack of knowledge and training is the #1 challenge keeping marketers from achieving their customer engagement goals
• The cost and timeline for implementation is a market-wide issue, with 79% of respondents reporting implementation taking three months or longer
• Time is money: The longer the implementation the lower a marketer’s satisfaction with the process
• Only 20% see their customer engagement platform provider(s) as a strategic partner

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“Being able to effectively reach customers across all channels is key to increasing attention, stickiness, loyalty and conversion,” said Ross Andrew Paquette, Maropost founder and CEO. “This research reveals that most marketers deal with complicated platforms that slow them down, impede their growth and are difficult to use. Marketers need a solution that promises much quicker time-to-value and a single view of their customer across all channels.”

The average consumer typically used two touchpoints when buying an item 18 years ago. Today, consumers use a variety of touchpoints, stressing the need to move beyond email marketing alone. In addition, while omnichannel marketing strategies can increase revenue, poor or nonexistent omnichannel experiences can result in a 10% decrease in revenue.

Maropost is a B2C cloud-based marketing platform that enables companies to increase
cross-channel customer engagement and maximize revenue. Its survey was designed to measure marketers’ attitudes toward consumer expectations, as well as how prepared their current organizations are in meeting those expectations. The company commissioned B2B International, a market research company, to interview 300+ marketing decision-makers at consumer-facing companies with 25-999 employees in industries including retail, publishing, ecommerce, and hospitality.

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