NEWS ROUND-UP
AI rolling out in 2019 marketing plans despite consumer scepticism
Research by Acquia shows 2019 will be a breakthrough year for AI and machine learning in digital marketing in the UK
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are set to become mainstream digital marketing tools in 2019, despite consumer scepticism, research by Acquia suggests. 82% of marketers in the UK say artificial intelligence (AI) and
machine learning (ML) will play a part in their marketing strategy in the next 12 months as they look to improve the experiences they give customers. This compares to 77% of marketers globally, suggesting that UK marketers are looking to adopt AI and ML more aggressively than their counterparts in other countries. Indeed, 42% of UK marketers said AI and ML will form a “big” part of their 2019 strategies. But while marketers are looking forward to AI and ML improving experiences, the same can’t be said of consumers — only 48% of whom are looking forward to AI making interaction with brands better. AI and ML have both been widely hyped as transformative technologies for all aspects of business — especially marketing. Yet the scepticism of using these technologies per the research responses highlights how consumers have been left underwhelmed with previous efforts of marketers integrating new tech to improve the customer experience. Sylvia Jensen, VP of EMEA marketing at Acquia explains: “AI
and ML will provide incredible opportunities for marketers as they continue to try and improve customer experiences with their brands. However, it is important that marketers understand the best use of these technologies. “Consumers only become aware of technology and
processes when they see it doesn’t work and the brand they are interacting with fails to offer a personalised experience. Therefore it is vital that marketers get to grips with how their
martech stack works together throughout the buyer’s journey. “Given the wide variety of AI and ML techniques available,
marketers should focus on how it can solve specific challenges within the customer journey and make the overall experience better — and only deploying AI and ML where it will actually help them deliver the seamless experiences customers want. Adding technology for the sake of it and not doing it well is only likely to increase the gap between marketers and consumers with regards to that experience. The report findings used above are part of Acquia’s inaugural
annual global report entitled Closing the CX Gap: Customer Experience Trends Report 2019 , which assesses the state of customer experience. More than 5,000 consumers and 500 marketers across Australia, the UK, France, Germany and North America provided input for the report.
Demand from digital natives to shape the future of the workplace
Recent research has uncovered that 49 per cent of employees look for technology that can help boost their productivity and performance in the workplace. According to intelligent information management experts M-Files, digital natives are shaping the modern workplace, placing huge demands on organisations’ technology portfolio. Firms which don’t invest in solutions to boost employee efficiency and possess the infrastructure to support their ambitions will see them turn to those competitors who can. Discussing this, Tim Waterton, Director of UK Business at M-Files says: “By 2020, millennials will make up 35 per cent of the global workforce meaning their arrival can’t be ignored. This generation of digital natives – as they are becoming increasingly known – have grown up with technology at their fingertips and expect to be able to access information instantly from anywhere, in their personal and professional lives. Organisations which cannot meet these demands or accommodate this cultural shift will struggle to attract and retain future talent. “Digital natives – by their nature – are incredibly ambitious, wanting to move into managerial positions much faster, and aren’t afraid to change jobs to achieve this. Technology is something they readily leverage to realise these aspirations,
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which can serve as a big reality check for many firms, as many are still reliant on cumbersome, inflexible technologies which hold back productivity. Take how a company shares information as a case in point. “We’re soon to be releasing research which examines the
challenges employees face in the workplace. Some of the key findings reveal that over 85 per cent of employees indicate that they regularly experience challenges when searching for the documents and information required to do their jobs. Furthermore, over two-thirds of employees find it challenging when searching for and accessing documents on their mobile device. When you consider how reliant we are as a society on our mobile devices, generations born into this technology are likely to dismiss employers that don’t have the infrastructure to deliver the same working experience, whether they are in the office or out in the field using any device. “For organisations who want to keep the digital natives happy,
and therefore gain a competitive advantage by being able to attract and retain top talent, having the right technology in place to support their desires for greater productivity and workplace efficiency is key, and information management practices will be critical to this.” concluded Waterton.
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