Speed-Trap report highlights gap between multi-channel aspirations and reality

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Speed-Trap report highlights gap between multi-channel aspirations and reality.

The Speed-Trap CRM 2.0 Survey Report has been launched to present new insight into the reality of multi-channel strategies. Speed-Trap, the customer insight software provider, reveals that while the vast majority of organisations recognise the importance of combining online and offline marketing activity to maximise sales opportunities, today only 16% actually achieve that objective.

The research was undertaken by Econsultancy during November and December 2008 and asked over 500 companies and agencies to what extent they had implemented a CRM 2.0 strategy.

CRM 2.0 Survey Report clearly reveals that the online market is maturing; that organisations are no longer treating the web as a separate channel but an integral component of overall strategy.

As the online channel takes an increasing mainstream role in revenue generation and customer acquisition, this research reveals that organisations across every market sector recognise the need to improve customer personalisation and cross-channel integration, insists Malcolm Duckett, VP Operations at Speed-Trap. However, there is clearly a large gap between aspiration and reality.

The research reveals that 83% of organisations either definitely or somewhat put their customers at the heart of their decision making; over a quarter (26%) are committed to creating customer conversations, whilst 25% definitely treat their customers as individuals whether online or offline.

However, it is apparent that organisations are simply not collecting the right information online or managing to effectively integrate the online and offline channels.  While 64% would like to link online and offline data to optimise the user experience, but this is currently achieved by only 22%. In addition, 72% would like to link real-time and historical data achieved by only 17%; and 73% want to carry out real-time personalisation based on behaviour currently achieved by only 12% of companies. Furthermore, only a fifth (20%) are definitely able to link data from the online channel with the back office systems

Traditional web analytics solutions over-promised and under-delivered, leaving too many organisations complacently accepting inadequate web information, Duckett says.

Duckett concludes, To achieve the multi-channel vision and improve customisation, it will be essential for organisations to leverage the next generation of technology to improve the integration of offline and online information and collect behavioural, aspirational and engagement data. Critically, this data can then be used to drive highly personalised (one-to-one) and innovative multi-channel offers via automated marketing programs and business processes a scheme that can easily and quickly profitability, but is being widely missed.