In a recent survey, 72% of Fortune 500 CEOs chose "the rapid pace of technological innovation" as one of the greatest challenges facing their companies. BusinessWeek published an entire issue dedicated to the idea that every executive needs to understand the fundamentals of coding if they expect to be competent future leaders. Both of these examples underscore the impact technology has made in the workplace.
At Red Door, we are constantly evaluating new and emerging technologies to help our clients understand the best opportunities for marketing innovation. The possibilities seem immeasurable as new technology vendors pitch us for their business every day. Our approach is focused on finding tools that solve for unique client needs and their shared marketing challenges. A common theme between our clients is the need to personalize communications with customers.
Today's tech-savvy consumers expect brands to provide them more comfort, flexibility, and convenience in their daily lives. Therefore, marketing must become more personal in order to stay relevant. We are now thinking about personalization across the whole customer journey rather than a marketing silo. And, as mobile continues to grow in scale, a personalization strategy with location-based context is necessary to reach consumers with the right messages and experiences wherever they are.
In regards to a personalization strategy, marketing executives are on board. In Adobe's 2015 Digital Intelligence Survey (see graph below), they ranked personalization as "the most exciting marketing opportunity in five year's time." Marketers clearly see value in personalization strategies. However, we find they face similar barriers joining up data sources across channels required to make personalization with consumers happen. While most new marketing tools offer personalization features, they cannot manage multichannel campaigns without the necessary data integration.
The economic expansion is well underway, so we can expect the pace of technological innovation and its impact on business to further accelerate. One thing that won't change is the need to engage consumers on a more personal level with insight and understanding. The tools for achieving this are readily available; however, it requires a multi-disciplinary approach to connect data and synthesize meaning.
