NAB

What are the different trends around ​​marketing enablement and transformation, and how do you align your marketing strategies with these trends?

Consumer habits have been changing with the online market boom. They expect a higher level of service in their digital interactions with brands. In this background, many new entrants to the market are providing their customers with great experiences. With respect to this, consumers are also getting aware of the data they themselves generate, and how it is leveraged by brands.

Take digital marketing, for instance, where there is a considerable transformation around identifying people and the market. Businesses are optimizing their digital marketing as third-party cookie activity declines. This reckoning change is making organizations look at different alternatives and capabilities to surpass the third-party cookie data problem.

Also, there is an ongoing trend around technology enablers and data space. Customer Data Platforms (CDP) capabilities are allowing organizations to collect customer-related data, gain insights from datasets, and to perceive data and draw new insights to expand customer knowledge. Adopting AI and data science are also supporting vendors to process the data faster. AI, especially, is making significant advances in the development of robust platforms designed to provide out-of-the-box functionality. Leveraging these technologies enable organizations or companies to readily respond to the need of customers.

Could you mention any recent projects or best practices you have implemented to create better customer experiences in your organization?

One of the areas we focused on was lining up the value chain across our organization. This allowed us to represent customers within our organization at the right place in the value chain and provide a better customer experience. We adopted measures such as creating cross-functional teams, taking experts from each department, and ensuring appropriate customer representation in terms of design experience and channels to communicate with customers.

“Understand the customer and the problems that they are facing. Help them in a way that makes the most sense to you and to your brand.”

By collaborating continuously with martech vendors, we stay updated on new features as they are developed. This enables us to add robust marketing tools to our workflow and gives us access to a larger customer base so that we can cater their unique needs.

Are there any standard rules or technology trends you follow when vetting or looking for new kinds of martech solutions?

We start with a problem that needs to be solved, like the inability to deliver a particular type of experience to customers. Our team keeps up with industry developments and discusses new technological tools when they enter the market or reach a certain level of maturity in order to identify and rectify the gaps in our capabilities. We acquire and read case studies of martech vendors that display the value customers get. We also try and invest in people, recruit top talent that can push the boundaries of innovation and transform our approach to modern technologies and experiences. We carry out regular guided self-assessments, which help reflect their skills' adherence to the goals. Then we work with them to create individual development plans to bridge the capability gaps.

What advice would you like to give the readers of this article or industry veterans trying to revamp their customer experience capability?

Customer experience strategy should be a priority, as it helps scale revenue growth. Always start with the customer. Try to align the value chain using cross-functional teams and multiple different skills so you can deliver value to the customer. Understand the customer and the problems they face. Build on that and help them in a way that makes the most sense to you and your brand. Always experiment and invest in people, as they are the key to unlocking the full potential of customer experience.