Digital transformation is reaching a new point of maturity. It is a mandatory tool that creates competitive advantage. Despite being measurable like never before, even data-driven marketers face challenges in key areas of fragmentation and friction across the digital landscape.
This year’s APAC Digital Marketing Performance Dashboard, conducted by the CMO Council in partnership with Adobe, revealed that marketers continue to struggle with extracting data from silos across the organisation. Content and the application of a creative vision are also siloed. Nearly 24 per cent admit that creativity and content development are managed as needed, and only 4 per cent feel they have a highly evolved creative vision that is embraced company-wide.
Without a single view of the customer that can provide digital directions, or a single voice for creativity embraced company-wide, marketers run the risk of presenting fragmented customer experiences. To deliver outstanding experience, marketers need to prioritise the connection of functional silos.
Using Data Right With data, marketers can make incremental adjustments to improve strategies — and deliver personalised, high-value content across multiple channels. Despite this, only 9 per cent of all marketers across the region see data as a key differentiator.
Organisations must make an operational commitment to start looking at data as something more than a spreadsheet of results. Besides tools, solutions, talent and in-house analytics expertise, this will also require budget, real business strategy, and a customer-first culture.
Customer Is King Close to home, mobile has certainly emerged as a bright spot for marketers. According to the 2015 Digital Dashboard, content — specifically, mobile content — is where marketers are advancing.
Marketers cannot afford to lose sight of content as it progresses through a highly complex web of channels and customer touchpoints. Sophisticated marketers are already thinking holistically about the full range of customer touchpoints, experiences, and preferences for truly individualised content.
An organisational shift, driven by marketing and fueled by metrics, data and content, is needed, where every individual across the organisation feels a sense of ownership of the customer experience and a duty to drive the brand forward. This deep understanding of customer expectations will lead to the delivery of more relevant and impactful experiences that customers not only opt-in for, but reward with loyalty.
The next wave of rapid adoption is about to hit marketers and business across Asia Pacific, with creativity and content playing a pivotal role in delivering a personalised customer experience.
Guest Author
The author is senior vice-president of Marketing, CMO Council
