Be warned: Is your data failing you?

CX Data platforms are growing in popularity by those that seek to improve their Customer Experiences. These platforms can provide data management intended to optimize the Customer Experience, not only at a general level but also at a personalized level.

It’s one thing to have the tools on hand to improve your Customer Experience (CX) However, a recent study by Forrester Consulting on behalf of DataStax revealed that knowing how to use them is another thing entirely.

What is a CX Data Platform?

For those unfamiliar with CX Data Management, the term applies to how businesses track customer information and obtain feedback from them. Some systems can identify user problems in online and mobile interactions. Others help you survey customers based on location and industry or even product purchased. Whether software- or cloud-based, CX Data Management is designed to give organizations quick access to customer data in real time.

However, what the Forrester Consulting survey revealed is that this real-time data isn’t helping CX, at least not at the moment. According to the study, nearly all (95%) of those that receive real-time data cannot “make sense of it, ” and most admit they don't make their real-time CX decisions using real-time data.

[To download a copy of the full study published by DataStax, please click here.]

Despite this fact, the same study revealed that nearly 90% of respondents believe that an integrated CX Data Management solution would improve their CX strategy and personalized experience goals. Already, 89% of them are investing in the tools and technology to enhance their CX initiatives.

Another important fact revealed by the study is that personalization efforts need work on their effectiveness. The respondents showed that personalization efforts are not what they should be. The problems include:

• A reliance on segmentation
• Use of a single data point
• The personalized experience presented does not provide value

The Problem Most Organizations Have Hasn’t Changed

I am not surprised by the results revealed in this study. What the Forrester study shows me is that many organizations accept the importance of gathering customer data and personalized experiences, but lack the experience or knowledge for proper implementation. The foundation of both of these elusive concepts is in grasping the emotional experience.

Every organization has an emotional experience, whether it is deliberate or not. Emotional relationships are crucial in any Customer Experience strategy you employ, because, as my regular readers know, emotions influence the outcome of any Customer Experience outcome by more than 50%. These emotions create an emotional bond with a company. Moreover, emotions affect how we remember our experience, which influences how loyal we feel, as well as what we expect from an organization.

Personalization is a vital concept in the evolution of customer expectations. Whether that means knowing the customer always buys a certain brand of trainer from you that is on sale now or that a new war documentary just dropped for your history-loving Netflix viewer, personalization is a great way to deliver an exceptional experience to customers. Using the data collected about customer behavior to present an offer that appeals to the individual is an effective way to create an emotional relationship with your brand.

Effective personalized offers must have a robust understanding of the individualized customer behavior, however.  The problems the study identified reflect the fact that the majority of companies still do not get this concept. Shortcuts to effective individualized personalization do not exist. But the tools that can deliver the information you need exist; all you need to do is roll up your sleeves and sift through what you have to discovered to deliver a personalized experience that provides value—and a strong emotional bond with customers.

It Is Still All About Emotions

Most buying decisions for customers happen at an emotional level, a fact that still surprises far too many organizations. On the one hand, I am encouraged by the investment many organizations are making in the tools that can help deliver an exemplary and individualized Customer Experience. On the other, I am discouraged by the lack of emphasis on the emotional experience that a company should provide customers. Understanding customer emotions and how they result in customer action is key to moving forward in Customer Experience today.

It is still all about emotions. Many companies still think that customers make rational decisions all the time. People do make rational decisions, just not nearly as often as we think we do. The fact is people buy emotionally and then justify the purchase rationally. Therefore, the more you can connect how a person feels to what they do, you can predict what they will do next. Or, in this case, what you can prompt them do next, which is critical information for your bottom line.

How do you use your data to full effect? Please share your strategies for implementing your data to improve your CX.

Make sure you are using your data to help create a Customer Experience that harnesses human emotions and make your customers loyal. Register now for Beyond Philosophy's Secrets of a Successful CX Training Program with 10% discount promo code LASTCHANCE.

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Colin Shaw is the founder and CEO of Beyond Philosophy, one of the world’s leading Customer experience consultancy & training organizations. Colin is an international author of five bestselling books and an engaging keynote speaker.

Follow Colin Shaw on Twitter @ColinShaw_CX