Companies struggle to connect data to CX, leading to inconsistent experiences

Dive Brief:

Only 26% of organizations are providing a completely connected user experience across all channels, according to a survey of 1,050 IT decision-makers by Salesforce.
The study also found that three-quarters of businesses are struggling to integrate data insights into their user experience — a disconnect that often causes inconsistent experiences.
Effective data sharing is essential to overcoming this challenge, according to Nicole Greene, VP analyst at Gartner’s marking practice. “A core team consisting of CX, marketing and business leaders working closely with IT, data science, HR, communications and legal specialists is needed,” Greene said in an email to CX Dive.

Dive Insight:

The wide range of options open to consumers leave them spoiled for choice, so providing a consistent CX across channels is essential to maintaining and acquiring customers.

But to provide standout experiences, businesses must deeply understand customers’ needs, and that, Greene said, requires good data.

“Brands that capture customer attention with content and experiences that help customers make decisions, enable learning and fix problems will deepen customer trust and improve their business outcomes,” Greene said.

Strong overall data governance is also vital to enabling consistent experiences, Melissa Ludack, VP of data science at Target, said at the National Retail Federation’s 2024 Big Show last week.

Clean, accessible data is also particularly important for generative AI, which is only as good as the data it pulls from.

“The importance of enterprise-wide data hygiene to inform CX efforts can't be overstated,” Greene said. “CX leaders must be part of the effort to develop the capabilities now to leverage generative AI in the future.”

Companies that establish data best practices are better positioned to utilize AI across the entire enterprise, according to Param Kahlon, EVP and GM, Automation and Integration, Salesforce

“With a strong foundation of data, organizations can evolve their integration strategies,” Kahlon said in an email to CX Dive. “Better data connectivity helps organizations make the most of their data assets for different AI use cases.