83% of marketers increase investment in personalisation in 2019

Some 83% of marketing leaders will invest more money in personalisation in the coming year, with almost a third planning a significant increase in budget.

However, according to research by Sitecore, many are still struggling to deliver personalised experiences that meet customer expectations. Less than 40% of companies are currently using even the most basic targeting criteria for personalisation.

Data and analytics (41%) and technology platforms (36%) are the top two areas marketers currently invest the most money to fuel personalisation, and this will continue in the year ahead.

While 81% of firms are using AI for personalisation, only 20% admit to leveraging both external and internally-developed AI capabilities. Sitecore suggested this might be because 52% lack an adequate roadmap and strategic investment plan for their personalisation.

Speed, automation and budget were the top pain-points for marketers when producing and delivering more personalised content. Other barriers to enhanced personalisation include lack of budget (40%), limited platform capabilities (37%), channel complexity (37%) and data (35%).

Paige O'Neill, CMO at Sitecore, said: 'Marketers are overestimating their current capabilities and underestimating what it takes to truly master personalisation. Despite the fact that over a third of marketers see digital experience as a major competitive advantage, most are struggling to leverage crucial personalisation techniques, from basic targeting to AI capabilities.'

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