“Select & Connect” study shows marketing disconnect

Just how connected with customers are marketing departments today? According to a new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council study, the answer is “disconnected.” 

As reported in an April 26 CMO press release, while marketers are clearly making customer development a priority, the “Select & Connect” study (Strategies for Targeted Acquisition and Retention, A CMO Council Report, April 2006), shows marketers have a “significant disconnect with the realities that drive effective targeting, acquisition and retention.”  Here’s what the study has to say in more detail.

Specifically, Select & Connect details on page 5 of the study that marketers are not in significant contact with customers; customer advisory boards and links with online communities are rare; they don’t adequately rank leads; there is no consistent monitoring of churn and retention; and they place a heavy reliance on sales to drive customer conversations.

“To top it off,” says the report, “misalignment and competition with other departments presents a significant barrier to effective customer engagement.” (Page 5)

The study’s detailed findings, plus respondent quotes such as, “I have no idea of what the cost of acquiring a new customer is versus selling to an existing customer,”  (Page 12), should give all marketing execs a wake up call – and a few sleepless nights. Given all the talk in the trade press about marketing accountability and ROI, consider these three detailed study findings:

1. A majority of respondents (72.4%) replied that they do NOT have a dashboard or system for continuously modifying and adjusting marketing spend to meet sales requirement or market dynamics. (Page 10)

2. A majority of respondents (66.9%) do NOT have a formal system for tracking marketing’s role in customer acquisition, retention and value creation. (Page 10)

3. More than one-third of the respondents 36.6% do not have a model or profile of the best prospect or opportunity. (Page 11)

Source: Select & Connect, Strategies for Targeted Acquisition and Retention, A CMO Council Report, April 2006.

One silver lining— the study points out that there are companies figuring out the customer-insights puzzle. According to the study, the following traits characterize such marketing organizations:

Control over segmentation and targeting strategies; strong relationships with sales and other business units; Direct customer conversations and interactions; robust customer data systems that generate reliable customer information; and a clear view into where, how and in what way customers are using products.

Even so, marketing execs have their work cut out for them.  What’s the old saying? “I know that half of my advertising works, I just don’t know which half.”  This study echoes that even in 2006, with all of the CRM and marketing tools and technology available, many in marketing still don’t know that answer.