Brands falling short on real-time customer analytics

Almost three-quarters ( 70%) of US business leaders surveyed for the report said they had increased their spending on real-time customer analytics solutions over the past year, and half ( 51%) said using such solutions had significantly improved their understanding of the customer journey.

Of the 560 business leaders interviewed for the report, sponsored by SAS, Intel and Accenture Applied Intelligence, 49% said they had experienced significant revenue growth as a result of their analytics efforts, while 44% claimed a positive impact on growth and revenue generation.

While the majority of respondents ( 83%) agreed on the importance of translating data into actionable insight, only 22% said they are currently successful at doing this at the right time.

Meanwhile, the majority ( 60%) agree that real-time customer interaction is “extremely important”, but only 16% considered their brands to be “very effective” at achieving this across various channels and 30% said they were “not effective at all”.

Alex Clemente, managing director of Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, said: “The study shows that early adopters of real-time customer analytics are already reaping tremendous benefits on the engagement and revenue front. That said, there are still significant obstacles to overcome. Strategic alignment and a willingness to constantly retune analytical methods are critical to those most successful in creating personalised customer experiences at scale.”

The study is based on responses and interviews with 560 US business leaders drawn from the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council and the Harvard Business Review reader audience in February and March 2018.