First, we asked marketers “are your customers getting high quality experiences?” and learned that the majority of the respondents (55.9%), answered that customers only sometimes receive high quality experiences, with only 6.8% stating that their customers constantly get what every marketer should aspire to - very high quality experiences. Keep in mind that this is their opinion of the customer experience they provide - their customers may have a different view.

Interestingly, although nearly all respondents said that their staff are properly equipped with the skills to do their job, 58% don’t think marketers in their organisation are meeting customer expectations across all channels. Marketers have known it’s vital that they connect with and impress their customers through every channel for many years now, so it is concerning that so many are under-delivering.

Why is this the case?

Our research suggests that marketers feel outnumbered and overwhelmed by the number of systems they need to work with, and it seems that this is having a negative knock-on effect on customer experience. This is reinforced by the fact that 64% of respondents told us that their organisation’s systems are fragmented, with nearly half (45.8%) saying that their operations are too complex to be manageable.

In addition to fragmented systems, nearly two thirds of respondents said that their organisation has operational silos - rendering valuable information, data, and expertise inaccessible to other parts of the organisation. Breaking down these silos is essential from the customer's point of view - for example, if a customer visits a bank’s website, starts applying for a credit card but doesn’t complete the process, then visits a branch, only to find they have to start from scratch because the systems aren’t connected, they have a bad experience - caused by silos.

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What are we likely to see in the future?

We may see marketing departments struggling to cope as channels and customer demand continues to proliferate. Although 70% state that staffing and budgets will actually increase with demand, most say that operational costs are also likely to rise, meaning that the additional resources may not deliver a significant impact.

In addition to this, fragmentation is likely to get worse as organisations implement more systems to combat the sudden growth of new channels, similar to how some brands have had to implement new systems in order to adapt to the emergence of Instagram and Snapchat.

So what can marketers do to combat this feeling of being outnumbered when faced with growing demands?

If your organisation has operational silos, you need to break down the barriers that are preventing communication - that starts with identifying what they are. Something as simple as organising a weekly meeting or call could be enough to help produce meaningful discussions that allow collaboration.

Wherever possible, design systems to make data as accessible as possible for everyone in your organisation. You could either do this on a case-by-case basis, or investigate replatforming. If neither of these options are plausible, you can minimise further fragmentation by automating and insisting on synchronisation processes to enable data sharing.

Conclusion

With growing customer expectations, tight budgets and complex systems, it’s no wonder marketers are feeling overwhelmed. In order to combat this, you need a proactive approach - be aware that there are steps you can take to consolidate systems and break down communication barriers within your organisation. Understand that, if allowed to manifest, fragmented systems and operational silos can be a serious detriment to your customers experience.