Marketers pressed to innovate

Those that built strong customer connections can shine during post-pandemic recovery, according to Salesforce

Innovation is both the No.1 priority and No.1 challenge for Thai marketing leaders, according to a new survey by Salesforce, the global customer relationship management (CRM) specialist.

The findings are contained in the sixth edition of the company’s “State of Marketing” report. The survey draws on insights from 7,000 marketing leaders worldwide including 200 from Thailand about their strategic priorities, challenges and the technologies they plan to use for marketing transformation.

Here are Thailand’s key takeaways from the report.

■ Innovation is the top priority and the No.1 challenge. Marketing transformation has taken on a new urgency as digital-first engagement has become a key focus. Thai marketers are acutely aware of the need to innovate.

The second-ranked priority for Thai marketers is delivering a true omni-channel experience by creating cohesive customer journeys across channels and devices.

Third is improving the use of tools and technologies to provide differentiated, digital-first customer engagement.

When asked about challenges, Thai marketers voted engaging with customers in real time and creating cohesive customer journeys across channels and devices as their second and third challenges after innovation.

■ 5G will have the greatest impact in the next decade of marketing innovation. Looking ahead, Thai marketers expect new technologies and social developments to have the greatest impact on their work over the next 10 years, with the roll-out of 5G networks ranking at the top of the chart.

According to the survey, 60% of local marketing leaders believe 5G will have a major impact on marketing in the decade ahead.

Leading marketers also see an expansion of online access among the Thai population as an opportunity, together with the growing availability of new technologies, such as virtual reality, which is expected to play an important part in shaping the marketing landscape.

■ Marketers’ use of AI has skyrocketed. Once a buzzword, artificial intelligence is now making a real-world impact with 84% of marketers reporting the use of AI, up from just 29% in 2018.

According to the report, Thai marketers are turning to AI for various uses for real-time interaction, improving customer segmentation, automated customer interactions over social channels or messaging apps, and bridging online and offline experiences.

■ Sales effectiveness is a top success metric. As businesses shift from crisis triage to recovery and adaptation, marketers have a unique opportunity to turn trusted customer relationships into business value.

In Thailand, leading marketers use sales effectiveness (including funnel engagement and rep performance) and revenue as their key metrics for success.

Web/mobile analytics that track the number of page views or time spent on websites are also used to measure success.

“Marketers have always been at the forefront of change. A few months ago, the focus was on trying to innovate and stay ahead in a new decade where every industry, region and customer experience is being disrupted,” said Tony Ng, area vice-president for Asean of Salesforce.

“Technologies such as AI, along with increased customer expectations, presented both incredible opportunities and hefty challenges. Now marketers face even bigger changes stemming from a global pandemic. The Covid19 crisis forces them to rethink everything in a socially distanced world.”

To get the full State of Marketing Report 2020 in Thai, visit https://sforce.co/3ha78pm