Companies typically lack a strategy for integrated customer experience, according to findings in the Econsultancy/BuyDesire Mobile Marketing and Commerce Report, which is based on a survey of more than 500 companies and agencies.
The majority of companies (58%) are still in a position where they are just beginning to develop their strategies for improving the customer experience, a similar percentage to Econsultancy’s survey two years earlier.
“It is clear that commitment to delivering an integrated customer experience doesn’t necessarily translate into a well-developed strategy,” the report says.
Consider that nine of every 10 companies state that there is at least some level of organizational commitment to delivering an integrated customer experience, including 43% who say they are “very committed”. But only a fifth (20%) say they have a well-developed strategy in this respect and only 8% of companies surveyed said they provide a ‘very integrated’ customer experience.
What’s more, the research shows that many organizations are struggling in key areas needed for an integrated customer experience.
While data (63%) and systems & processes (54%) were widely identified as critical areas for success in the context of an integrated customer experience, the report notes that only a minority of companies rate themselves as excellent or good in those areas (32% and 24%, respectively).
Respondents were also asked for their opinions on statements that refer to their overall mobile strategy and intentions for the next 12 months.
According to the report, there is an appetite among client-side businesses to get more involved with mobile, as two-thirds (67%) say mobile will become a fundamental part of their marketing and commerce strategy during the next 12 months.
However, it is just as clear that organizations are still in the early stages of using mobile as just 39% have a mobile strategy in place.
More than a quarter (28%) of companies are satisfied with their conversion rates (either ‘very’ or ‘quite’ satisfied), up 6% since 2012 and the highest level since 2009.
Additionally, around three-quarters (73%, up from 65% in 2012) indicate they have seen an improvement in conversion rates in the last 12 months.
When asked which mobile channels they plan on using during the next 12 months, more than half (55%) of marketers said apps, followed by mobile advertising (51%), optimized emails (50%), and tablet-specific sites (50%).
Mobile search and commerce were also cited by precisely half (50%) of client-side respondents.
Econsultancy’s report is based on a survey of almost 900 digital marketing professionals during June and July 2013. It examines how their companies or clients approach this topic, and what they regard as key factors for success.