LONDON and NEW YORK, June 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital marketers are facing an on-going battle getting to grips with the huge amounts of data they have to work with.

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The biggest hurdles and key priorities for marketers this year are dependent on having accurate, enriched data, linked together in a central location for a complete customer view, according to new findings published in Experian Marketing Services'2015 Digital Marketer Report.

Linkage topped the list of barriers to cross-channel marketing success, moving from fourth place in 2014 to first place in 2015.

Eighty-nine percent of marketers say that they have trouble achieving a single customer view, and a third of those questioned see effective linkage as the main barrier (32 percent) to creating a truly cross-channel marketing strategy.

The biggest challenge identified by marketers for achieving a single customer view is poor data quality (cited by 43 percent of marketers), followed by siloed departments (39 percent) and the inability to link different technologies (37 percent).

Experian Marketing Services surveyed more than 1,000 marketers worldwide to identify the biggest opportunities and challenges for marketers from around the world. The annual report benchmarks some of the key issues that brands face trying to engage audiences with relevant messages, in an often complex digital environment.

Separate research conducted by Experian Data Quality earlier this year found that 91 percent of companies are leveraging data and data quality in an attempt to optimize their customer experience. However, only 28 percent of companies are creating real-time triggered messaging across multiple channels with their data.

To deal with this issue, Experian Marketing Services helps organizations link data sets together to find unique consumer insights, significantly improving the way organizations meaningfully connect with their audiences.

"Consumers demand exceptional brand experiences, but without the right strategy and technology for collecting, authenticating, linking and managing all the data coming into an organization today, brands are unable to meet that demand," said Ashley Johnston, senior vice president, Global Marketing, Experian Marketing Services. "Accurate, enriched data allows brands to stand out from competitors, create relevant interactions based on the deepest understanding of their customers and build successful customer-acquisition strategies as their priorities suggest."

"Achieving single customer view is a key step in the right direction, but fully optimized cross-channel marketing is still the Holy Grail for marketers around the globe. The in-depth process required in setting up a strategy presents a range of hurdles, and there are other important issues to overcome in the process," said Simon Martin, Experian Marketing Services, UK. "It takes entire companies working together to get a better understanding of their customers and to plan an engagement strategy that will resonate uniquely with each customer at every point of interaction."

A question of linkage

The 2015 Digital Marketer Report identified several top barriers to achieving a fully integrated cross-channel marketing approach: no single customer view (32 percent), companies' current technology (31 percent) and organizational structure of the business (31 percent) came out on top.

Around the world

The top challenges for marketers from around the world share many similarities, but priorities and barriers differ slightly by region.

UK:


    --  Single customer view (SCV) and data linkage is seen as more of a
        challenge than any other, with nearly two-fifths (37 percent) of U.K.
        respondents saying this was their top challenge, beating organizational
        structure (33 percent) and the company's current technology (32
        percent).
    --  United Kingdom marketers are more likely to believe they understand
        customer behavior and have a clear roadmap toward cross-channel success
        (with only 21 percent and 20 percent, respectively, identifying these as
        challenges) compared to the global average of 25 percent apiece.

Europe:


    --  The picture in Europe is very different than the United Kingdom. In
        Spain, only 17 percent of respondents reported the same issue with
        linkage; instead, the major problem was identified as the company's
        current technology (42 percent) as holding them back.
    --  French marketers follow a similar pattern and are also more confident
        with their grasp of linkage, with 24 percent flagging it as an issue.
        Again, technology (38 percent) is the most pressing concern for French
        respondents.

North America:


    --  Organizational structure was identified as the most important issue in
        North America, with 38 percent of respondents rating this as their
        highest priority.
    --  Respondents also are more likely to say they don't have a clear roadmap
        to success (26 percent) than the global average.

Asia:


    --  In Japan, marketers are confident in their technology, with only 9
        percent seeing this as an issue. Instead, 44 percent struggle to link
        data to create a single customer view.
    --  Meanwhile, respondents from Australia and New Zealand identify
        technology as the largest single challenge to their cross-channel
        strategy (35 percent).

The full 2015 Digital Marketer Report can be downloaded from the Experian Marketing Services Website here: http://bit.ly/1FEXRS5 along with an infographic highlighting key findings.

Contacts:

UK and EMEA
 Nick Jones
Head of PR, Experian Marketing Services
07583 297082
nick.jones@experian.com

Matthew Tubbs
Ruder Finn for Experian Marketing Services
02074383090
mtubbs@ruderfinn.co.uk

USA
 Suzanne Blackburn
1 212 863 4648
suzanne.blackburn@experian.com

About Experian Marketing Services

Experian Marketing Services is a leader in data-driven marketing and is the only company in the world to offer a comprehensive Marketing Suite that unites customer insights, analytics, data quality and cross-channel marketing technology into a single platform. Backed by the industry's highest-rated client services team, we own and maintain the world's largest consumer database and provide marketing services and cloud-based technology to more than 10,000 brands in more than 30 countries. With significant presence in the world's largest economies and a portfolio including many of today's most well-known and respected global brands, we provide enterprises with unique competitive advantages through marketing services and technology. Our extended legacy in data security, management and consumer privacy has earned the trust of organizations and consumers from around the world for more than three decades. For more information, please visit http://www.experian.com/marketingservices.

About Experian

We are the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to our clients around the world. We help businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. We also help people to check their credit report and credit score, and protect against identity theft. In 2014, we were named by Forbes magazine as one of the "World's Most Innovative Companies."

We employ approximately 17,000 people in 39 countries and our corporate headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; California, US; and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended March 31, 2015, was US$4.8 billion.

To find out more about our company, please visit http://www.experianplc.com or watch our documentary, "Inside Experian."

Experian and the Experian marks used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Experian Information Solutions, Inc. Other product and company names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

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SOURCE Experian Marketing Services