Barriers hinder MarTech's role in fostering customer trust

A new report from Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, sponsored by SAS, has identified several barriers that prevent marketing technology (MarTech) from building customer trust, despite its ability to personalise experiences and convey consistent messages.

The research surveyed members of the Harvard Business Review audience involved in marketing decisions and familiar with their use of MarTech. It underscored the importance of customer trust, with 91% of respondents considering it crucial for organisational success. Furthermore, 81% acknowledged that MarTech significantly or moderately impacts fostering this trust.

However, challenges such as integrating new technologies into existing MarTech stacks, which are often a collection of disparate and siloed systems, affect the technology's potential. Difficulty in integration was noted by 38% of the respondents as a barrier impeding MarTech's positive impact on customer trust.

Data quality issues pose another significant challenge, with 37% of respondents highlighting poor data quality, 36% pointing to silos of customer data, and 29% indicating lack of real-time data access as barriers.

Additional factors impacting customer trust include inconsistent messaging across different channels (31%), inadequate customer service (30%), and marketing content not aligned with customer needs (30%).

The report also reflected a growing interest in generative AI (GenAI) as a powerful capability that can nurture customer trust and loyalty, with 74% of those surveyed believing GenAI could enhance their MarTech stack. Indeed, 37% of organisations intend to increase their investment in GenAI over the next year, surpassing other MarTech solutions.

Nevertheless, the adoption of GenAI remains a gradual process. Only 13% of organisations have fully implemented GenAI for marketing purposes, while 45% are piloting or exploring its use.

Among those leveraging GenAI, specific applications include using it for customer support through chatbots and virtual assistants (36%), creating more user-friendly online experiences (30%), and enhancing security to protect customer data (29%).

Lisa Loftis, Global Principal for Customer Intelligence at SAS, commented on the benefits of responsible marketing driven by MarTech, stating, "Responsible marketing driven by the careful application of MarTech like GenAI delivers real benefits to brands. Through a more targeted, personalised approach, marketing campaigns can be more easily managed and produce better results. And by automating simple, repetitive tasks, GenAI frees marketers to focus on more complex and mission-critical tasks where they can apply their creativity, experience and skill."

GenAI and MarTech solutions, despite existing challenges, are reportedly aiding more organisations in acting responsibly with customer data, providing timely and relevant information, and agile support. The report suggests that increased customer trust leads to a greater willingness to share personal data, powering a more effective and personalised marketing approach.