Marsh

Because tool capabilities are uneven and give an incomplete perspective of consumer behaviour and cross-platform journeys, marketers struggle to utilise existing analytics tools to successfully evaluate engagement when customers use multiple platforms. Modern marketing analytics technologies that are cross-platform, user-first, less manual, and more customizable are helping brands gain a deeper knowledge of the customer journey. Customers will have a clearer understanding of their requirements and behaviour throughout their journey if companies use forward-thinking technologies. This will lead to improved customer experiences and retention. Google commissioned Forrester Consulting to assess the present situation in March 2020.

• Despite its importance, cross-platform analytics is still uncommon.
• Privacy characteristics are more important to decision-makers than other analytics platform capabilities.
• Digital analytics is used by businesses to better analyse and improve consumer experiences.

Customers are demanding more from brands: they want access to what they need, when and when they need it, regardless of channel or touchpoint. Organizations can only respond to a hazy image of customers' demands and habits without comprehensive digital data and analytics. We discovered that, in the current condition, after polling 750 analytics decision-makers from diverse regions and nations,

The importance of analytics in marketing is undeniable.

• Digital analytics is used by businesses to improve customer experience and marketing effectiveness.
• For ever-changing business demands, companies demand enhanced skills.

Organizations have a hurdle due of limitations in existing analytics tools.

• The basis of smart analytics processes is a source of contention for businesses: data administration
• Insight generation is hampered by a lack of visibility across platforms and segregated data.
• There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all analytics solution for businesses.
• Organizations don't have a unified picture of their data across platforms.
• Machine learning (ML) skills that can uncover more sophisticated insights are lacking in most organisations.

Instrumenting an effective analytics program is difficult, but this challenge is compounded by customer behaviors seeming to change faster than an organization’s ability to measure them. Marketing decision-makers are looking for just that.

We found that when it comes to opportunities for the next generation of analytics platforms:

• Buyers look for flexible predictive analytics tools that integrate with their existing technology stack.
• Privacy capabilities are top of mind
• Better data management and cross-platform capabilities are top areas of growth
• Marketers need cross-platform to facilitate better experiences

Customer habits tend to change quicker than an organization's capacity to measure them, making it even more challenging to implement an efficient analytics programme. That is exactly what marketing decision-makers are searching for. When it comes to potential for the next generation of analytics systems, we discovered that:

• Invest in analytics software that can be used across several platforms.
• To get the most out of your data, look at sophisticated AI/ML capabilities.
• Encourage your company to adopt a privacy-first mentality.
• After you've implemented cross-platform analytics, focus on improving the customer's most crucial digital trip.