The existence of the market research industry rests on the fact that companies need ongoing feedback from their customers to make the right decisions. This high-profile acquisition should encourage more forward-looking CMOs to invest in experience data in the new year. If the industry doesn’t improve how it engages with customers, people will refuse to participate in research, which will in turn impact the quality of your data. Surveys need to feel less like surveys and should feel more like conversations. A great majority of surveys today are sent via email. This long-standing approach in research is problematic, and it’s an issue that the insights industry needs to talk about more. But across all industries, less than 25 percent of emails coming from businesses are opened. To make the most out of experience data, you need to continuously talk to your customers. Again, the key here is to recalibrate your approach to market research. For many companies, adding research tools in your martech stack can bring enormous insights, not just for your marketing team, but to any department that needs customer feedback and experience data.
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The biggest acquisition in martech this year highlights the coming of age of experience data. In November, SAP announced plans to acquire Qualtrics for $8 billion — a mega-deal that would make it the second biggest acquisition for any SaaS company.
This news put the spotlight on experience data, but the reality is, this is not a new idea. The most successful companies have known for a long time that they need to understand the sentiments, attitudes and emotions of their customers in order to succeed. The existence of the market research industry rests on the fact that companies need ongoing feedback from their customers to make the right decisions.
But what makes the SAP move notable is that it acknowledges in a significant way that operational data alone isn’t enough. The stunning price tag of the acquisition validates experience data as a valuable source of insight — perhaps more valuable than people thought before.
This high-profile acquisition should encourage more forward-looking CMOs to invest in experience data in the new year. Marketing has never been more difficult. Attention spans are short, there’s more competition, and there’s a lot of noise. The companies that will win are those that can connect emotionally with their customers — and this is insight that can come from experience data.
There are countless martech tools that uncover transactional data, and market research platforms have historically taken a very small percentage of the marketing budget. With experience data getting more attention, it’s a good bet this will change in 2019.
If you’re investing more in experience data in the new year, here are some things to keep in mind.
1. Put the user experience above all else.
One of the most common ways companies get experience data at scale is through customer surveys. But the survey experience today is, for the most part, broken. Long surveys, clunky UI (especially on mobile) and stodgy language are all contributing to decreasing response rates.
Whether you like it or not, your customer surveys are an extension of your brand. A subpar survey experience not only reflects badly on…
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