IN A NUTSHELL: A focus on customer experiences is the must for 2015 and beyond, considered even more important than mobile and content marketing.
Adobe joined forces with Econsultancy to issue this year’s Digital Trends 2015 report. They discovered where over 6000 marketers are focusing their digital efforts. For the complete report visit this link.
In the introduction to the report, Mark Phibbs, VP EMEA Marketing, Adobe, explains that the customer experience (CX) is increasingly taking center stage as more companies realize that this is crucial, not just for differentiation against competitors, but increasingly for survival in an unforgiving business world. Customer experience is seen as the stand-out imperative for 2015 and beyond, with 22% saying it is the single most exciting opportunity this year. There is now daylight between CX and content marketing, which is still undoubtedly in the ascendancy but some distance behind with 15% of the vote.
As has been identified by Econsultancy analysts in the report, other areas of focus such as data-driven business, personalization, mobile and cross-channel marketing are all vitally important for business success in their own right but their roles are ultimately subordinate to an organization’s over-arching efforts to ensure that the customer experience is a good one.
Strategy and culture are widely identified in all corners of the world as the most important building blocks for a successfully integrated customer experience across an increasing number of customer touch points. The importance of technology, data and skills should not be under-estimated, but the right direction from the top of the business and a conducive business environment are fundamental to success. A well thought-out approach is becoming even more important in a world where mobile devices and even wearable technology mean that the digital and physical worlds are no longer separate.
Another highlight of the report is the emergence of targeting and personalization (30%) as the highest digital-related priority area, narrowly ahead of content.
Optimization (29%) which has also climbed up the pecking order. The technology has long been available for marketers to target optimized content at website prospects and customers across the right mix of channels in a way which is timely and highly relevant to their implicit and explicit needs. In the context of the innovation adoption curve, 2014 was the year when the early majority of marketers joined the early adopters in embracing areas such as personalization and content optimization. This year may well be the year when the late majority start to prioritize these areas as well. Make sure you’re not behind the curve.