#contactcenterworld, @Calabrio, @hotwireglobal

Companies know they must adapt to change in order to compete, but often don’t rely on a wide enough lens into data to drive change. A new study announced, "Business Transformation and Analytics: Driving Change in a Customer-Centric World," reveals 85 percent of executives know that data and analytics are critical to informing sales and marketing changes within the business, yet 39 percent admit to relying too heavily on one data point. What’s more troubling, 68 percent of executives admit to avoiding a major change initiative unless there is a problem.

Commissioned by Calabrio, a provider of customer engagement and analytics software, the study surveyed more than 1,000 C-level business executives in the U.S. and U.K. to explore the factors that compel change, and identify the data sources they use to inform decisions.

Business leaders know transformation is certain as 60 percent of respondents have made a significant sales or marketing change in the past 12 – 18 months, citing fluctuations in revenue (49 percent) and direct feedback from customers (39 percent) as the top initiators of those changes.

However, executives are informing decisions based on a limited set of data points that are often the easiest to derive. While revenue figures (36 percent) and social media (20 percent) are the most influential sources, companies lack the full insight to confidently and effectively drive change.

Despite the heightened focus on customer experience, businesses still ignore sources that deliver the voice of the customer. Instead, executives draw opinions from biased sources such as ratings and reviews (49 percent) and social media (40 percent), while democratized sources such as the contact center remain relatively untapped (12 percent).

"Executives recognize the value of analytics but it’s alarming that so many are underutilizing this powerful tool," said Tom Goodmanson, president and CEO at Calabrio. "When companies have a narrow view of what’s actually happening in the business, they may be skewing decisions and, even worse, making changes that don’t deliver what customers want. Often overlooked, the contact center provides reliable, balanced information that can ensure change initiatives reflect the true needs of the customer and the way to get this information is through analytics."

#contactcenterworld, @Calabrio, @hotwireglobal