Businesses that are investing in personalised customer engagement are managing to continue to increase revenues, despite economic uncertainty and stretched resources, according to research from Twilio.
The fourth annual State of Customer Engagement Report – which surveyed more than 4,700 B2C leaders and 6,000 consumers around the world – found that 81% of companies that invested in customer engagement met their financial goals. And, looking at the UK in particular, 94% of companies that invested in digital customer engagement saw revenues grow by an average of 107%, with 58% saying that investment has improved their ability to meet changing consumer needs.
The effectiveness of these efforts is highlighted by UK consumers reporting they will spend 15% more with brands that personalise engagements, with 71% of respondents saying that personalised experiences increase their brand loyalty. However, companies believe that consumers actually spend 41% more when engagement is personalised.
The research also found that 48% of UK consumers have been left frustrated by interactions in the past year, and 51% of consumers say they will leave a brand if it doesn’t personalise their customer experience through their needs, expectations, and preferences.
Although, consumers want to see brands using first-party data in order to deliver this personalisation as opposed to third-party cookies. A third of them always or often reject cookies on websites, while half have left a site rather than accepting cookies in the past year. 64% of consumers would prefer for brands to only use first-party data.
This presents a problem, with 81% of global brands still reliant on third-party data.
“When every penny is being scrutinised, businesses need to know they are putting their marketing spend in the right places,” said Sam Richardson, Customer Engagement Consultant at Twilio. “This research reinforces that when brands use first-party data to personalise engagement with customers, they will experience higher revenues, greater loyalty, and better ROI. Companies aren’t the only ones grappling with smaller resources, so are consumers. The brands that pay close attention to changing customer needs and ensuring they give them the experiences they crave, will be the ones that win this climate.”
