HBR: real-time customer analytics unknown to brands

[nusratjahan]

The survey conducted by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services and sponsored by SAS , Intel , and Accenture Applied Intelligence reveals that companies using customer analytics have already achieved significant results. Yet, most of them believe they are still far from providing their customers with effective real-time service.

According to the survey "Real-Time Analytics: The Key to Understanding Customers and Ensuring the Best Customer Experience ," 44% of respondents reported significant increases in growth and revenue after implementing customer analytics ; 58% saw significant improvements in customer shop retention and loyalty . However, only a surprisingly low number of respondents considered their brands' real-time customer engagement across various channels to be "very effective," compared to 30% who considered it "not at all effective."

This finding is a wake-up call, as a clear majority of managers interviewed believe that the ability to provide customers with real-time interactions and relationships is “extremely important” today, and an even larger percentage believe it will be even more so in the next two years.

“ Real-time customer analytics is a strategic priority now and in the future ,” said Alex Clemente, managing director of Harvard Business Review Analytic Services. “ The survey shows that early adopters are already reaping extraordinary results in terms of customer engagement and revenue. That said, there are still real challenges: strategic alignment and the willingness to constantly adapt analytical methods, two crucial aspects for those who have successfully developed personalized customer experience projects at scale .”