Study: Brands aim to increase efficiency, leverage tech to increase retention
Retention and loyalty are top priorities for brands’ marketing and customer service teams – despite some challenges.
That’s according to a new survey from customer relationship management platform Klaviyo, conducted by Forrester Consulting, which found that both teams ranked increasing customer retention (47%) among their top strategic goals. More than two-thirds (69%) also indicated that they were prioritizing retention and loyalty in response to economic uncertainty.
To achieve these benchmarks, surveyed marketing and customer service leaders are focused on organizational goals, such as increasing operational efficiency (76%), consolidating tools and technology for better alignment (72%), and fostering collaboration among marketing, customer service and CX teams (67%).
More than half (54%) of those surveyed said that customer service is a “value center” (a revenue driver and loyalty enabler) in addition to “cost center" (must be optimized for efficiency). Only 18% said they still feel that customer service is primarily a cost center.
Despite their shared goals, including two-thirds (67%) of respondents indicating that cross-functional collaboration is key to their ability to meet their goals, marketing and customer service teams aren’t collaborating as closely as they could be. No more than 25% of respondents had established consistent collaborative workflows across key processes such as understanding the impact of marketing campaigns on service demands, incorporating customer feedback into marketing programs, and ensuring marketing and service alignment on business objectives.
Klaviyo’s report noted that organizations that do collaborate see higher retention (61%) and stronger revenue (55%). When asked about their primary roadblocks, 61% of those surveyed pointed to organizational silos, 57% indicated that different goals or KPIs play a role, and 52% noted disconnected tools and data are an impediment.
Only 15% of respondent organizations report having the right tech in place, despite 66% calling it “critical.” Almost half (46%) struggle with disconnected tools and fragmented data (41%). The large majority (82%) of those surveyed said personalization is critical to their goals, but only 11% say they have the tools to deliver it.
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“When marketing and service work together, customers feel the difference,” said Jamie Domenici, chief marketing officer at Klaviyo. “Take Happy Wax, a home fragrance brand. By unifying their data, they’re able to pause marketing campaigns for any customers with an open issue, ensure their service teams have all the customer context to deliver a fast resolution, and even offer personalized discounts based on what each customer is most likely to purchase next. That’s the power of having one platform where every interaction builds on the last.”
The full Klaivyo report can be found here.
