Business View Magazine | November 2019

13 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2019 OPENING L INES endless journey permutations – customers want to be remembered and understood as they crisscross myriad channels, touch points and contexts,” said Wilson Raj, Global Director of SAS Customer Intelligence. “Brands must reinvent their operating models to act at speed. They need a holistic data strategy that they can personalize at scale, journey analytics capabilities that can adapt in real time, and enable a self-reinforcing cycle of tailored experiences.” Emerging tech will underpin brand success over the next decade The future of CX will be shaped in large part by evolving technologies. The research asked brands what “futuristic” technologies they are investing in today to shepherd in new customer experiences and increase customer satisfaction by 2030. “The empowered new buyer is capitalizing on emerging technologies and exerting tremendous pressure on the technology needs of marketing organizations,” said Raj. For CMOs, these forces create a “moving target” problem: It’s hard to gain a leading edge on something that’s constantly advancing. And this is problematic because consumers expect ‘always-on’ access and service and to interact with a brand on their terms.” Per the study, 62% of brands are investing in voice-based AI assistants to improve customer engagement strategies and as a customer support asset. Another 58% are investing in voice-based AI as an internal marketing and sales asset. For augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), 54% of brands are investing in it to help consumers visualize the look or use of a product or service remotely. And 53% of brands are pursuing AR/VR tools to improve product use and self-help. The study also found that 83% of brands are investing or plan to invest in holographic technology for in-store advertising, interactive gaming and public events. All these emerging and more complex customer engagement technologies mean that brands must re-think their data management proficiency, analytical optimization processes, and automated decision making capabilities. They must be able to use these new technologies to achieve tangible business outcomes. These new applications will be capable of ingesting, processing, analyzing, designing, and deciding how to deliver multi- moment marketing that will continue to resonate into the future.