Gartner: 63% of marketers say providing personalized experiences is difficult

About two-thirds (63%) of digital marketing leaders said they are frustrated with personalization , consulting firm Gartner found in a survey of 350 executives .

84% of respondents said newer technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have enhanced the ability to deliver real-time , personalized experiences , but the survey found that only 17% of marketing leaders use AI or ML extensively.

As people spend more time online, data about consumer activity has exploded, but a new Gartner survey shows that marketers have become increasingly frustrated with personalization over the past few years .

As early as 2019, Gartner predicted that 80% of marketers would abandon personalization efforts by 2025 due to low return on investment and the difficulty of managing customer data .

The forecast reflects marketers’ frustrations with collecting data from consumers, which are struggling to personalize due to a combination of factors including growing distrust of sharing personal information, greater scrutiny from regulators and restrictions by technology companies on tracking audiences online.

Gartner's latest research found that compared to two years ago, the proportion of marketers who said " providing personalized experiences to customers " was a challenge increased by 8 percentage points from 15% in 2019 to 23% this year.

The study also found that processing and analyzing consumer data is also a major challenge, with the percentage of respondents who said " leveraging integrated customer data to drive digital marketing execution " was a challenge climbing from 21% in 2019 to 25% this year.

“A comprehensive personalization strategy and roadmap are critical factors influencing marketers’ ability to achieve results from personalization efforts, yet most marketing organizations lack an effective personalization strategy, let alone one that is clearly tied to target business and customer goals,” said Noah Elkin , Vice President, Marketing and Marketing at EMEA.

To address the personalization conundrum, Gartner recommends that marketers develop a framework that ties technology deployment to goals while considering cost and ROI; leverage existing tools before trying new technology; and consider the impact of new technology on the organization through staffing and training needs.

marketing

Personalization

Customer Data