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Whitepaper

Data and analytics are widely thought of as playing a critical role in a business’ success. However, today’s leading product decision makers also believe that when embedded as part of their company’s products and services, data and analytics’ benefits can also be extended to their customers, ultimately increasing both customer satisfaction and retention. In fact, 93% of product decision makers today believe that providing customized and personalized data and analytics to their customers, at the point of decision, would give them a competitive advantage.   Many even feel such offerings could allow them to charge up to nearly 20% more for their products and services because of the insights from data they provide (80%).


In short, today’s product decision makers believe that:


<ol class="is-style-checkmarks-plain">
	<li>Analytics Drive Business Value for customers, not just their own businesses</li>
	<li>There are benefits of providing analytics through Embedded, Actionable Personalized Intelligence</li>
	<li>There are many Current Barriers to Success with Analytics, some internal and some cultural</li>
</ol>


Analytics Drive Business Value


Data and analytics, a must have – companies providing it well reap the benefits through increased revenue and loyalty.


Nearly all (92%) of product decision makers feel data and analytics are critical to the success of their business – with 41% saying it is very critical. A strong majority agree that data and analytics are table stakes for their industry.


In fact, 100% feel at least a few of their customers need better data and analytics – 75% say all/most of their customers do. This represents an enormous opportunity for product decision makers to differentiate their products and services from the competition.


Additionally, 86%, or more than 4 in 5, of product decision makers say that offering data and analytics to their customers not only plays a critical role in the customer satisfaction but also in building loyalty and retaining said customers. Nearly all (96%) agree data and analytics would help their company in terms of building and retaining loyal customers. 


To top it all off, data and analytics may even provide companies with an increase in revenue. Offering data and analytics based on one’s role and at the point of decision (e.g., in their app or workflow) can also increase TAM (total addressable market) for their business (92%). Product decision makers even feel an increase in ASP (average selling price) would be possible for their products or services with personalized and customized data and analytics (96%). Four in five (80%) feel they can charge up to nearly 20% more for their products and services because of the data and analytics that they provide.


Specifically, product decision makers believe customers would find data and analytics that are prescriptive (tells them what they should do) (56%) and predictive (tells them what is going to happen in the future) (53%) most useful. Pivoting to the future of personalized and customized data and analytics, a strong majority (81%) of product decision makers feel if they could provide their customers with such offerings, it should be embedded – which include embedding in communication software/platforms (57%), in custom-built apps (55%) and in off-the-shelf business or SaaS apps (52%). 


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full fancybox"><img decoding="async" class="wp-image-132684" src="https://cdn.sisense.com/wp-content/uploads/HarrisPoll-Inline-1.png" alt="" /></figure>


Benefits of Embedded, Actionable, Personalized Intelligence


Product decision makers are aware of the substantial benefits customized and personalized data and analytics can have for their business and that such specific offerings are exactly what customers are looking for. 


Today’s product decision makers agree that analytics is critical for their customers—more than three quarters (76%) believe their customers are always/often making decisions based on data and analytics. However, near the problem is not skill. Product decision makers are confident in their customers’ ability to use the data and analytics they receive to make decisions. Nearly three quarters (74%) say all/most of their customers are skilled in doing so. As a result, around 1 in 10 (11%) feel their customers simply do not have the data and analytics they need to make decisions to take appropriate actions. 


ly 2 in 5 (38%) believe their customers look at data and analytics monthly or less often. This gap between a customer’s projected needs and the frequency in which they actually view data and analytics is directly tied to how they receive the insights from data, which is every bit as important as what insights are actually delivered.


The deeper issue is that nearly all (92%) product decision makers currently deliver data and analytics to their customers via non-embedded methods. Specifically, around 3 in 5 still deliver it by email (60%) or web portal/dashboards (57%). A strong majority (81%) of product decision makers say if they could provide their customers with personalized data and analytics, it should be done by embedding it somehow. Methods of doing so include: embedding in communication software/platforms (57%), custom-built apps (55%) and off-the-shelf business or SaaS apps (52%). 


Surprisingly, many product decision makers actually look to consumer applications as models for how to deliver analytics to their customers. Nearly all product decision makers wish reading and analytics could be as easy as reading a personalized text message (92%). Around 3 in 5 wish it was closer to their experience with communication (61%) or shopping applications (60%). More than half (53%) wish their data and analytics experience was more aligned with entertainment applications, such as Netflix or Spotify. Streaming services are thought to be quite user friendly, as 9 in 10 (90%) product decision makers long for data and analytic tools to be as easy as their favorite streaming service. A similar proportion (93%) wish getting data and analytics was as easy as interacting with a virtual assistant. 


Ultimately, almost all product decision makers believe their customers are interested in data and analytics provided in context of the task the user is completing (97%), more personalized to the user (97%), customized to their industry or consumer activity (96%) and are interactive (95%). 


Companies who can deliver on this promise of providing data and analytics at the right time to the right people, will be considered, by product decision makers, to be the most innovative (94%).


Current Barriers to Success with Analytics


While product decision makers struggle with organizational support and legal requirements, customers are unable to make decisions as they are perceived to lack the proper data and analytics with which to do so. 


A strong majority (83%) of product decision makers think their customers are currently making decisions without the proper data and analytics at least some of the time – close to 3 in 5 (59%) say they are always/often without the right data and analytics.


While customers are perceived to lack the proper data and analytics, product decision makers face their own barriers. Many report that they are in the early stages of understanding all the data and analytics that their organization has to offer customers (94%) as well as better understanding what information their customers need (30%).


In terms of barriers to actually providing personalized and customized data and analytics, more than a third of product decision makers believe they need to purchase an embedded data and analytics solution (37%) as well as hire more talent who understand data and analytics (35%).


There are also other internal issues to consider. Around 2 in 5 say their industry has specific legal and compliance requirements to follow (41%) which can make it difficult for their customers to legally access the information. To this point, around 2 in 5 (38%) product decision makers cite customers having difficulty accessing the information as a barrier they face. Additionally, more than 2 in 5 (42%) product decision makers feel they need more support to be able to customize and personalize data and analytics for customers, more than a third (35%) feel prioritization of such offerings is needed from executives as well. 


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full fancybox"><img decoding="async" class="wp-image-132685" src="https://cdn.sisense.com/wp-content/uploads/HarrisPoll-Inline-2.png" alt="" /></figure>


Survey Methodology


Findings are based on an online survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Sisense among 503 product decision makers in the US. All respondents (referred to as “product decision makers” throughout the report) are age 18+, work full time at a company with at least 200 employees, with the title of director or higher in either a research and development or engineering department and have at least some influence in decisions made for embedding analytics solutions into the delivery of their product or service. Respondents’ companies must also deliver their product or service through technology platform or software application and serve B2B or B2C customers. 


The survey was conducted between October 12 – November 1, 2021. Data are weighted to be representative of the distribution of US businesses with at least 200 employees. Because we do not have business size data specific to companies who embed analytics solutions into the delivery of their product or service, a larger sample was weighted initially, with the set of qualified respondents selected out for the final analysis.

The Business Intelligence Landscape