Marketers today face a growing list of challenges, especially when it comes to leveraging customer data. A recent survey conducted by BlueConic in collaboration with WBR Insights points out these difficulties, drawing responses from 100 senior marketers and executives.
These professionals represent leading business-to-consumer brands, with more than half of them working at companies generating over $1 billion in annual revenue.
The survey identifies key hurdles that marketers encounter, from unrealistic technical demands to gaps in technology infrastructure, which collectively impede their ability to maximize the value of customer data.
Why unrealistic tech demands are a major challenge for marketers
In the current landscape, marketers are increasingly expected to handle technical tasks traditionally reserved for IT professionals. Tools that require marketers to code like engineers present major challenges, especially for those whose expertise lies in strategy and creativity rather than technical execution.
The survey indicates that 50% of marketing leaders are either unsure about their teams’ technical skills or outright doubt their teams’ ability to effectively utilize customer data. This gap between expected capabilities and actual skills creates a major barrier to achieving data-driven marketing goals.
When marketers are burdened with technical tasks beyond their training, it both slows down operations and detracts from their core competencies, such as crafting compelling campaigns and strategies.
Technology gaps are slowing down data-driven marketing
Modern marketing is heavily reliant on sophisticated technology infrastructures that can handle large volumes of data and integrate many different tools seamlessly. Despite this, the survey shows that this is where many organizations falter.
Integrating new tech with existing systems is a major pain point
A surprising 71% of respondents identify the integration of new technologies with existing systems as the primary obstacle to becoming truly data-driven.
The challenge here lies in making diverse and often incompatible systems work together, which can be a complex and time-consuming process—typically leading to delays in campaign rollouts and inefficiencies in data usage, directly impacting the effectiveness of marketing strategies.
Most marketers are stuck with just ‘adequate’ tech infrastructure
The survey also shows that 81% of marketing executives rate their current technology infrastructure as only adequate, partially adequate, or inadequate—suggesting that while existing systems might be functional, they lack the robustness and flexibility needed to support advanced data-driven initiatives.
Inadequate infrastructure can limit a company’s ability to scale its marketing efforts, analyze customer behavior effectively, and respond to market changes in real-time.
Data integration issues are holding back marketing strategies
A strong majority (72%) of respondents report difficulties in integrating data from multiple sources and platforms. In a marketing environment where customer data often resides in disparate systems—ranging from CRM software to social media analytics tools—this lack of integration can result in fragmented insights.
Without a unified view of the customer, marketers find it challenging to create personalized and effective campaigns, ultimately reducing the overall impact of their marketing efforts.
Marketers struggle to maintain high-quality data amidst tech gaps
Guaranteeing high data quality is another priority concern, with 56% of marketers struggling to maintain clean and accurate data.
Poor data quality can lead to misguided decisions, wasted resources, and ineffective marketing strategies.
When data is inaccurate or outdated, the insights derived from it are compromised, leading to campaigns that miss the mark—reinforcing the need for better data management practices and more reliable technology solutions that can automate the cleaning and validation processes.
Organizational silos are blocking effective marketing collaboration
Even with the right tools and data, organizational silos can severely impact a company’s ability to capitalize on its customer insights. The survey highlights a lack of cross-departmental collaboration as a major barrier to success.
A unified vision could break down silos and boost collaboration
According to 67% of respondents, having a unified vision and understanding of the value of data across departments is key for effective collaboration on customer data initiatives.
Without a shared vision, different teams may work in isolation, leading to inconsistencies in messaging and missed opportunities for leveraging data insights.
A unified approach makes sure all departments, from IT to sales, are aligned in their goals and can work together to drive the company’s marketing strategy forward.
Infrequent collaboration across departments is a missed opportunity
Despite the recognized importance of collaboration, 47% of respondents admit that their marketing teams only collaborate with IT, sales, and customer service occasionally or rarely. This then limits the flow of information and ideas, resulting in a fragmented approach to customer engagement.
Regular collaboration between these departments is a must for creating a smooth and unified customer experience and for making sure marketing efforts are supported by the necessary technical and operational resources.
Customer insights are falling short in driving actionable strategies
While collecting customer data is one thing, turning that data into actionable insights is another challenge altogether. The survey showed that many organizations are struggling in this area, which greatly impacts their ability to create effective marketing strategies.
Why most marketers are struggling to turn customer data into action
Only 14% of respondents say their organization is highly effective in putting customer data into action, a statistic that points out a considerable gap between data collection and data usage.
The majority of respondents rate their ability to action customer data as either moderately effective (25%), somewhat ineffective (30%), or not at all effective (1%).
An inability to translate data into meaningful actions can result in missed opportunities for customer engagement and revenue growth. It can also indicate a need for better tools and processes that helps marketers move from data collection to actionable insights more efficiently.
Data presents both opportunities and major challenges for marketers
Data is often described as a “double-edged sword” for marketers. While it offers immense potential for personalization and precision in targeting, it also brings about several challenges that can be difficult to address.
Volume overload and privacy issues
Analyzing large volumes of data is the top challenge cited by 29% of respondents. The sheer volume of data that modern marketers have to deal with can be overwhelming, leading to analysis paralysis where too much information hinders decision-making.
Managing data privacy and consent issues is another major concern, with 28% of respondents ranking it as their second biggest challenge.
At a time when data breaches and privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA are top of mind, guaranteeing compliance while still leveraging data for marketing purposes is a delicate balancing act.
Secondary challenges commonly cited
Further compounding all of these issues, 22% of respondents rank analyzing large data volumes as their second most difficult challenge, while 15% place managing data privacy and consent issues in the same category. This draws attention to the complexity of modern data management and the need for more sophisticated tools and strategies to handle them effectively.
Marketers are shifting focus to privacy, data integration, and quality
In response to these mounting challenges, marketers are recalibrating their investment priorities, with a strong focus on privacy, data integration, and quality.
Privacy and security are topping the investment priority list
The survey indicates that 67% of respondents plan to invest in growing their organization’s ability to adhere to privacy and security regulations within the next 12 months—reinforcing the growing importance of data security in maintaining customer trust and complying with increasingly stringent regulatory requirements.
Investments in privacy should be viewed as more than simple compliance; they should be seen as building a foundation of trust with consumers, which is a must for long-term brand loyalty.
Marketers are prioritizing data integration and efficient analysis
With 58% of respondents prioritizing the ability to integrate data from multiple sources and platforms, it’s clear that seamless data integration is seen as a key enabler of effective marketing strategies.
Adding to this, 57% are focusing on improving the efficiency of data analysis, recognizing that the ability to quickly and accurately interpret large datasets is key to staying competitive in a fast-paced market.
Ensuring data quality is a key focus for future investments
Emphasis on data quality is evident, with 57% of respondents planning to invest in initiatives aimed at making sure data is of higher and cleaner quality. High-quality data is the bedrock of any successful marketing strategy, and these planned investments suggest that companies are becoming increasingly aware of the need to address issues of data accuracy and reliability.
BlueConic CMO stresses the urgent need for no-code marketing tools
Patrick Reynolds, CMO of BlueConic, presented a compelling argument for the adoption of no-code tools in marketing—pointing out that the traditional marketing role has evolved greatly, with marketers now expected to perform tasks that were once the domain of IT professionals.
This then creates a mismatch between the skills marketers have and the tasks they are being asked to perform. No-code tools, which lets marketers access and apply data insights without needing to code or rely on other departments, offer a solution to this problem.
Final thoughts
As you reflect on the challenges of bridging technical gaps and empowering your marketing team, ask yourself: Are you equipping your marketers with the right tools and skills to turn data into meaningful action, or are unrealistic demands holding them back? The future success of your marketing initiatives may well depend on how you answer this key question.
