Digital-first will prevail
Expectations for customer experiences are constantly rising. To remain competitive, companies must drive their digital projects forward. This is shown in a recent report from Adobe.
Adobe's latest Digital Trends 2022 report looks at how business professionals are responding to current market challenges and opportunities.
The report shows that the pandemic-related shifts toward increased online consumer behavior will continue in 2022 and even pick up speed. Companies must therefore consistently drive forward digital projects in order not to lag behind the competition.
Among the report's key findings are that 85 percent of German business leaders say customers expect digital structures today. A similar percentage (82 percent) also say that customers expect more digitally driven experiences beyond 2022. In addition, almost three-quarters (74 percent) report that customers are increasingly communicating with their company via digital channels.
"Brand communication and customer interaction must meet the highest standards both online and offline. In the past year, the balance has shifted significantly in favor of digital, and the end of third-party data is putting companies in a bind," says Christoph Kull, Vice President & Managing Director Central Europe at Adobe. "The foundation of sustainable customer relationships is the same in both worlds: building trust is essential, and a personal as well as relevant approach offers a veritable competitive advantage. Those who offer this in digital customer contact and across all channels create the basis for stability and further growth."
Digital transformation: Who does not push the envelope, will be left behind
Click&collect, virtual changing rooms - the pandemic has created a host of new shopping opportunities. More than two-thirds (69 percent) of companies say their customer journeys have changed significantly in the past 18 months. It is likely that this trend will continue beyond the pandemic.
However, there is a significant gap between brands' confidence in their own ability to deliver digital experiences that meet customer expectations. Only a few marketers are convinced that their company "exceeds customer expectations" (13 percent), while just under a quarter (22 percent) feel they lag behind the competition when it comes to digital experiences.
To meet these challenges, 42 percent of business leaders plan to optimize customer experiences across all channels. More than half (53 percent) also plan to increase spending on customer data technology and customer experience management systems.
Customer trust is the decisive success factor 2022
Third-party cookies will soon be a thing of the past. Many companies are now looking for new, better ways to offer their customers personalized experiences while earning their trust. Responsible handling of personal data is critical to this. Companies that have a robust first-party data strategy have a clear advantage here: more than two-thirds (69 percent) of German marketers are convinced that they can use first-party data effectively for personalized customer experiences.
Taking agility to a new level
Agility and the breaking down of data silos and thus a holistic view of customers are decisive factors for personalized experiences "at scale". However, many companies are lagging behind here. 37 percent of marketing specialists state that their company is "average" or "weak" or even "very weak" (20 percent) in terms of cross-team data exchange. This is a great opportunity to leverage untapped potential and create consistent experiences across all channels with the help of standardized customer profiles.
Skilled workers still lacking
However, personalization on a large scale requires the appropriate skills. Three quarters (75 percent) of German business leaders are concerned about whether their employees have the necessary skills. To close the skills gap, more than half of those surveyed intend to focus on recruiting specialists in the areas of customer experience and digitization this year, as well as investing in training for teams and employees (56 percent).
The "Digital Trends 2022" Report from Adobe is based on responses from nearly 10,000 marketers, IT professionals and executives from around the world. The core question is how attitudes towards digital experiences are changing and what focus areas are considered important in the industry to remain competitive in 2022 and beyond.
The complete report can be downloaded from the Adobe website can be downloaded.
