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Welcome to our latest annual Digital Trends More than half (54%) of global companies categorise
2.1.
Acknowledgements 6
report, produced in partnership with their CX maturity as either ‘not very advanced’ (46%)
Econsultancy for the ninth year running. or ‘immature’ (8%). Only 9% of APAC respondents
3. Quest for great CX powered described their companies as ‘very advanced’.
Looking back to our inaugural report almost a
by technology 7 Executives in APAC are positive about automation,
decade ago, it is striking the difference in the
make-up of the 12,500-plus respondents. It shows with only 24% describing themselves as
4. Data is the new everything 13 how Digital Trends has evolved from something ‘cautious’, compared with 34% in the US. Further
focused largely on digital marketing to a more to that, APAC businesses (24%) state they have
all-encompassing study centred on the unifying experienced a positive rather than negative
5. Customer journey management holds impact from the increased focus on consumer
theme of personalised customer experience (CX).
key to personalisation 19 data protection. This is a time of opportunity.
Those working in marketing (23% of the total
client-side sample) are now outnumbered In today’s competitive marketplace – described
6. Control of data: compliance and widely as the age of the consumer – companies are
by those with creative or design roles (28%),
walled gardens 25 with other functions such as IT (10%) and increasingly being asked to deliver personalised and
content (7%) also strongly represented. joined-up experiences across different touchpoints.
We are better positioned than ever to help.
7. Increased uptake of artificial intelligence 30
It is indicative of the growing recognition that
organisations need to be built around the Adobe has been on its own exciting journey, with
8. Recommendations 36 customer, with a range of different business its evolution culminating in the Adobe Experience
Cloud, a platform that gives our clients best-in-
functions looking to embrace the type of CX
class solutions for marketing, analytics, advertising
mindset and philosophy described in this report.
9. Appendix 1: Respondent profiles 38 and commerce. All under the umbrella of CX.
Data-driven marketing, highly-personalised content,
Last year saw us announce the acquisitions of
10. Appendix 2: Other selected charts 43 customer engagement, artificial intelligence
Magento and Marketo. Magento gives us exciting
(AI) and machine learning (ML) are all being
new capabilities to help customers refine the
recognised as necessary implementations.
shopping experience, while the Marketo acquisition
CX is key, but implementation is slow – our largest to date – increases our ability to offer
world-class solutions to B2B enterprise customers.
While the report demonstrates organisations are
The most dominant theme emerging from this year’s
ready to respond - half of organisations (50%) are
research is the importance of customer data, and
planning to increase CX-related technology spending
the greater levels of urgency that are apparent when
in 2019, and only 5% say they plan to reduce it -
it comes to harnessing data for commercial gain.
there is a lag in implementation: marketing and
CX technology continues to be fragmented. Our priority is to work with brands to unlock the
possibilities of customer experience management
and accelerate their business transformation.
The research looks at the most significant digital-related trends that are driving marketing and
customer experience strategies in the short to medium term, with a focus on understanding
what companies are prioritising and what they regard as the greatest challenges.
Those companies that are succeeding are The most dominant theme emerging from this year’s Companies are seeking greater control and AI has gained significant traction in the last year,
delivering first-class, personalised customer research is the importance of customer data, and ownership of their data, with a focus on but there are still significant barriers preventing
experiences built on a foundation of the greater levels of urgency that are apparent when compliance and concern about ‘walled gardens’. organisations from reaping the benefits.
integrated marketing and CX technology. it comes to harnessing data for commercial gain.
• More than a quarter (28%) of marketers cite • Survey respondents are most likely to describe
• Those organisations classifying themselves as ‘very • The larger organisations surveyed for this research difficulties ‘personalising customer experience themselves as ‘curious’ (36%) when it comes to the
advanced’ at customer experience are almost three (£150m+ annual revenue) regard ‘data-driven without violating consumer privacy’ as a challenge impact of automation, positioned in the context
times more likely than their peers to have exceeded marketing that focuses on the individual’ (24%) as most likely to keep them awake at night. of ‘self-driving cars’ and ‘grocery stores without
their top 2018 business goal by a significant margin. the single most exciting opportunity for their employees’. Just over a quarter (26%) of client-
organisations in 2019, ahead of ‘optimising the • Across all regions, significantly more businesses side respondents are ‘really excited’, while 22% are
• But only 10% of responding companies regard customer experience’ (19%) in second place. say they have experienced a positive rather than ‘cautious’ and 5% are ‘happy’. Relatively few survey
themselves as very advanced at CX, and the same negative impact from the increased focus on respondents report more negative emotions, with
percentage describe themselves as ‘digital-first’. • Marketers surveyed for this research are consumer data protection. More than half (52%) only 4% saying they are ‘afraid’ and 1% ‘angry’.
Digital-first companies are 64% more likely than particularly focused on data. Most marketers of CX leaders report a ‘positive impact’, compared
their peers to have exceeded their top 2018 (55%) expect ‘better use of data for more to only 8% who see a ‘negative impact’. • Where there is inertia within businesses around
business goal by a significant margin (23% vs. 14%). effective audience segmentation and targeting’ AI uptake it is due to the lack of awareness and
to be among their top three organisational • Those in Europe – where companies have understanding about the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of artificial
• CX leaders are four-and-a-half times more likely than priorities during 2019. The second most popular been focused on becoming compliant with intelligence. A third (33%) of larger organisations
other companies to have a highly integrated, cloud- choice for marketers is ‘improving customer the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation cite ‘no perceived need’, while 37% concede a ‘lack
based technology stack (32% vs. 7%). Companies intelligence and insights for a holistic customer (GDPR) – are significantly more likely than of knowledge on how they can use AI’, and 38%
with a highly unified technology stack are 131% view’ (42%), another data-related discipline. those in other regions to report a negative have not yet ‘assessed how they could use AI’.
more likely to have significantly outperformed impact (24%), though even here a higher
their top 2018 business goal (30% vs. 13%). • ‘Customer journey management’ (33%) is the top proportion report a positive impact (34%). • There has been a 50% increase since last year in
digital-related priority for larger organisations. For the proportion of larger organisations stating
• Half (50%) of client-side respondents say these larger companies ‘delivering personalised • More than four in ten (44%) agency respondents they are already using AI, up from 24% to 36%.
their organisations are planning to increase experiences in real time’ (37%) is the most working in advertising describe ‘walled audience CX leaders are twice as likely as other companies
CX-related technology spending in 2019, exciting prospect in three years’ time. data silos, such as Facebook and Google’ as one to be using AI within their organisations.
and only 5% say they plan to reduce it. of the three biggest challenges, making this
their clients’ number-one headache ahead
of other high-profile challenges such as ‘ad
viewability’ (20%) and ‘ad fraud’ (17%).
powered by technology.
• Kristof Fahy, CMO (Interim), Checkatrade.com
1. https://econsultancy.com/ashley-friedlein-marketing-digital-trends-2019/
While customer experience is widely recognised Only one in ten organisations see themselves as ‘very
as crucial for commercial success, the research advanced’ in respect of customer experience – just
suggests that organisations are struggling to a two-percentage-point improvement since 2015
translate this conceptual understanding into when we last asked this question (Figure 1). Most Figure 2 serves as a potent reminder of the commercial This hesitancy around digital transformation is
an operational reality. Whether CX is a mindset, companies (52%) still categorise themselves as either benefits for companies that have prioritised the consistent with research by analyst firm Forrester
philosophy or a discipline, too many companies being ‘not very advanced’ (44%) or ‘immature’ (8%). customer experience. Those organisations classifying which also shows a large amount of inertia in this
are failing to seize the initiative, as is evidenced While many companies have made genuine progress, themselves as ‘very advanced’ at CX (CX leaders) area2. According to its 2018 study of 1,600 business
by our global survey of business professionals others are only just waking up to the magnitude and are almost three times more likely than their and IT decision-makers, the majority of organisations
completed by thousands of respondents in North difficulty of the task, with legacy CX and marketing peers to have exceeded their top 2018 business (56%) are attempting digital transformation, but the
America, Europe, Asia Pacific and other regions. technology infrastructure no longer seen as fit for goal by a significant margin (37% vs. 13%). level of investment and ambition is insufficient when
purpose in a world of increasing complexity. it comes to making functions such as marketing and
The lack of progress by many organisations is also customer service truly fit for purpose in the digital age.
evident from the steady and persistent decline in
the proportion of companies that see themselves 2. https://go.forrester.com/blogs/the-sorry-state-of-digital-transformation-in-2018/
as ‘digital-first’ organisations, dropping to just
Figure 1: How do you rate your company in terms of customer experience (CX) maturity?
10% in 2019 (see Figure 31 in Appendix 2).
8%
Very advanced – our strategy and technology are well
aligned around CX to successful effect
10% Figure 2: Proportion of responding companies that exceeded their top 2018 business goal by a
significant margin (for different levels of CX maturity)
42% 37%
Quite advanced – our strategy and technology are aligned
but CX is not fully embedded yet
38%
45%
Not very advanced – we have some ad hoc tactical initiatives
but no real CX strategy or tech capability
44%
18%
5%
10%
Immature – we haven’t even started on this journey
8%
8%
2015 2019 Very advanced - our strategy Quite advanced - our strategy Not very advanced - we have Immature - we haven't even
and technology are well and technology are aligned some ad hoc tactical started on this journey
Respondents 2019: 5,153 aligned around CX to but CX is not fully embedded initiatives but no real CX
Respondents 2015: 937 successful effect yet strategy or tech capability
Respondents: 5,150
23%
Figure 4: What best describes your organisation’s approach to marketing and customer experience
technology? (by CX maturity)
49%
16%
15%
14%
32% 33%
26% 26%
18%
9%
7%
We are a digital-first Digital permeates all our Digital permeates most of our Digital marketing is very
organization marketing activities marketing activities much separate We have a highly integrated, We have a somewhat We have a fragmented We have little or no cloud-
cloud-based technology stack integrated, cloud-based approach with inconsistent based technology
technology stack integration between
Respondents: 3,439 technologies
CX leaders Others
Respondents: 3,381
“
technology than those in other regions, with
two-thirds relying on either fragmented technology
or reporting little or no cloud adoption, and 8% and From a martech
9% respectively (compared to 12% in the United perspective, we have
States) stating they have put a tightly integrated set
of solutions in place (see Figure 34 in Appendix 2). invested an increasing
amount in building
The positive side of the technology story is that
many businesses are showing a willingness to tackle the right stack over the
shortcomings. Half (50%) of client-side respondents last couple of years.
say their organisations are planning to increase CX-
related technology spending in 2019, and only 5% say
We’re using our dollars
they plan to reduce it (see Figure 35 in Appendix 2). effectively and putting
Among IT professionals surveyed for this report
money towards the
(Figure 5), the most commonly-cited first-choice top evolving media platforms
4.
priority for 2019 is ‘delivering improved experiences
for customers through new technology deployment’
that drive the most return,
(25% of IT respondents). This eagerness, among IT and leveraging data to
teams, to deploy new CX technology is particularly
pronounced in Europe and the United States,
make smart decisions. Data is the new
everything.
where more than six in ten organisations (66%
Lynne Biggar
and 68%, respectively) cite it as a top-three priority CMO, Visa
for the coming year, versus 55% for Asia Pacific.
Figure 5: Please rank the following in terms of order of priority for you in your job role during 2019.
(the IT professional view)
If the technology platform is the engine room that As we shall explore later in this section of the report,
Delivering improved experiences for our customers through drives CX and marketing activities, then the data is many businesses have experienced difficulties
25% 23% 15% 63% the oil that lubricates and powers this increasingly when seeking to harness data for commercial gain.
new technology deployment
sophisticated machinery. Companies that treat Problems can emerge when different types of
their data as a valuable and critical competitive customer-related data – whether from CRM, digital
Delivering improved experiences for our customers by asset – while taking care to respect consumer analytics, ecommerce or in-store – are trapped within
22% 22% 19% 63%
optimizing existing technology privacy – can use it to help drive their commercial company silos and standalone tools which are not
strategies through better customer experiences. properly integrated. A single customer view – or even
something approaching that – becomes impossible.
Delivering improved experiences for our employees by
20% 16% 17% 53% Recognising this potential for their businesses,
optimizing existing technology
enterprise organisations surveyed for this research
regard ‘data-driven marketing that focuses on the
individual’ as the single most exciting opportunity
Improvements to our data collection and data unification
capabilities
19% 20% 24% 63% in 2019 (Figure 6). Around a quarter (24%) of
company respondents working for companies
with revenues of more than £150m ($195m) make
Delivering improved experiences for our employees through
this their number-one choice, ahead of ‘optimising
14% 16% 15% 45% the customer experience’ (19%) in second place.
new technology deployment
Respondents: 266
Figure 7: Which one area is the single most exciting opportunity for your organisation in 2019?
Figure 6: Which one area is the single most exciting opportunity for your organisation in 2019?
(B2B versus B2C)
(larger versus smaller organisations)
Optimizing the customer experience 20%
Data-driven marketing that focuses on the individual 15% 19%
24%
Creating compelling content for digital experiences 15%
Optimizing the customer experience 18% 13%
19%
Data-driven marketing that focuses on the individual 12%
Creating compelling content for digital experiences 16% 21%
12%
Video to increase brand engagement 10%
Using marketing automation to increase efficiency and yield 9% 7%
10%
7% Using marketing automation to increase efficiency and yield 10%
Multichannel marketing 8%
8%
Utilizing artificial intelligence / bots to drive campaigns and 2% Social marketing 7%
experiences 7% 8%
12% Multichannel marketing 6%
Video to increase brand engagement 7%
5%
Internet of Things (IoT) / connected devices e.g. wearables, 3% Utilizing artificial intelligence / bots to drive campaigns and 5%
audience tracking 5% experiences 4%
8% Internet of Things (IoT) / connected devices e.g. wearables, 4%
Social marketing
4% audience tracking 2%
Reaching and understanding mobile customers 4% 3%
2% Reaching and understanding mobile customers
5%
Engaging audiences through virtual or augmented reality 3% 2%
1% Engaging audiences through virtual or augmented reality
2%
Voice interfaces 1% 1%
1% Voice interfaces
1%
None of the above 2%
2% None of the above 5%
3%
Organizations with annual revenues of less than $195m Organizations with annual revenues of more than $195m
B2B B2C
This doubling-down on data is backed up by This importance of a 360-degree view of the Many companies have realised that data analytics Large organisations
Figure 8, which looks specifically at changing priorities customer is consistent with the findings of a recent is no longer the preserve of pioneers, or those at
for those working in marketing (23% of our total report published by Adobe. This research found the ‘bleeding edge’. Companies recognise there regard ‘data-driven
sample). ‘Better use of data for more effective audience that a complete view of customer interactions is no time to waste when it comes to better use marketing that
segmentation and targeting’ is where most marketers was the company attribute most strongly of data – whether that’s employing people with
place increased emphasis for the coming year. correlated with customer intelligence maturity.4 the right skills, investing in the right technology or
focuses on the
enabling better cross-departmental collaboration. individual’ (24%)
The majority (55%) of marketers expect this to be The emphasis on data capabilities is particularly The numbers are also an indication of increased
among their top three organisational priorities pronounced in the United States. There, two-thirds business confidence in the building blocks that are
as the single most
during 2019. The second most popular choice (65%) of organisations expect to significantly increase necessary for excelling in data-driven marketing, exciting opportunity
for marketers is another strongly data-led theme their focus on use of data for audience segmentation including platforms and operational best practices. in 2019, ahead of
– that of ‘improving customer intelligence and and targeting in 2019, and 42% have a similar outlook An increased focus on consumer data protection
insights for a holistic customer view’ (42%). regarding improving customer insight (see Figure 36 in has no doubt acted as a further driver – or wake-up ‘optimising the
Appendix 2). In other regions, marketing priorities are call – in some markets during 2018 (see Section 6: customer experience’
more evenly split across areas ranging from building Control of Data: Compliance and Walled Gardens).
new data capabilities and integrating technology, (19%) in second place.
to understanding return on marketing investment. While the signs are that many businesses are set to
inject fresh impetus into their data-driven marketing
4. https://www.adobe.com/uk/modal-offers/customer- activity over the coming 12 months, complexities
analytics-2018.html (registration required) remain. Many respondents still cite ‘difficulty getting
a holistic view of customers across all interactions’
(44%) and ‘tracking marketing effectiveness and media
spend’ (41%) as ‘challenges likely to keep them awake
Figure 8: Which three marketing-related areas do you expect to jump furthest up your organisation’s
at night’ (Figure 9). When viewed in conjunction
priority list in 2019? (the marketer view)
with the increased focus being placed on audience
and customer intelligence shown in Figure 8, these
Better use of data for more effective audience segmentation
and targeting
55% figures show how eager many businesses are to
tackle the gaps in their picture of user behaviour.
Improving customer intelligence and insights for a holistic
42%
customer view
Many businesses have been seeking to address
Integration of marketing tools for greater efficiencies and internal bottlenecks such as organisational silos and
42%
better workflow
platform incompatibility and, in the advertising realm,
Understanding return on marketing investment (ROMI) 39% media accountability and brand safety have continued
to be major issues. Vodafone Group was one of
Building an integrated experience platform 32% various large brands to highlight in 2018 that it was
considering the in-housing of certain digital business
Scalable campaign management 25% functions in some markets, in a bid to drive greater
visibility and efficiency in advertising. The then-Chief
Increased automation of time-consuming tasks 21% Executive Vittorio Colao cited the ability to closely
track media spend as a ‘critical skill for the future’5.
Managing headcount and realignment of job functions 14%
5. https://www.vodafone.com/content/dam/vodafone/investors/financial_
None of the above results_feeds/year-ended-31-march-2018/FY_2018_Transcript.pdf
2%
Other 1%
Other 2%
“
regard the delivery of
Data is going to unlock personalised experiences
The second biggest digital-related priority as shown the complexity of any in real time (37%) as the
in Figure 10 is targeting and personalisation, and number of customer most exciting prospect
this is consistent with Figure 11 where delivering
personalised experiences in real time emerges as the
journeys and we in three years’ time.
most exciting prospect over a three-year view. More can understand and
than a third (37%) of larger organisations and 31%
of smaller ones make this their first-choice option.
connect with them
at the right time. And
Other trends regarded as exciting drivers of
opportunities in the medium term include artificial
every one of them will
intelligence (and bots), virtual or augmented be slightly different. Significantly, all the tech-driven trends shown in Companies must ensure that they are planning for
reality, and the Internet of Things (IoT) which
Figure 11 can in themselves play an important the future, not just by keeping an eye on technology
are all viewed as having great potential by a Ivan Pollard
role in enabling better and more personalised trends, but ensuring that they are devoting sufficient
significant minority of responding companies. Global CMO, General Mills
customer experiences, whether blockchain-based budget to innovation and experimentation.
functionality that reduces friction in the customer
journey, or voice search technology that makes
engagement even more intuitive for consumers.
Figure 10: Which digital-related areas are the top priorities for your organisation in 2019?
(larger organisations, £150m+ revenues)
Customer journey management 33% Figure 11: Looking ahead, which of these do you regard as the most exciting prospect in three years’
Targeting and personalization 28% time? (larger versus smaller organisations)
Customer data management 21%
Multichannel campaign management 21% 31%
Content marketing Delivering personalized experiences in real time
21% 37%
Ecommerce 17%
Utilizing artificial intelligence / bots to drive campaigns and 17%
Marketing automation 17% experiences 22%
Social media engagement and analytics 15%
Internet of Things (IoT) / connected devices e.g. wearables, 15%
Content management 15%
audience tracking 12%
Video content 14%
Lead management 12% 14%
Engaging audiences through virtual or augmented reality
9%
Conversion rate optimization 12%
Mobile engagement and optimization 11% 7%
Blockchain-based functionality
Unifying online and offline data 10% 8%
Customer scoring and predictive marketing 9% 5%
Voice interfaces e.g. Amazon Echo, Google Home
Audience management 8% 6%
Search engine marketing 7% 8%
Enhanced payment technologies e.g. mobile wallets, e-
Account-based marketing (ABM) 7% receipts 5%
Programmatic buying / optimization 6%
3%
Voice interfaces 2% Other
1%
None of the above 2%
Organizations with annual revenues of less than $195m
Respondents: 530 Organizations with annual revenues of more than $195m
Respondents: 2,082
Figure 12: Which of the following have you started to incorporate into your business?
(B2B versus B2C) Maintaining consistency of the brand 37%
Internet of Things (IoT) / connected devices e.g. wearables, 25% Speeding up / scaling content creation to meet marketing
34%
audience tracking 18% needs
Utilizing artificial intelligence / bots to drive campaigns and 23% Collaboration across teams 33%
experiences 24%
Enhanced payment technologies e.g. mobile wallets, e- 18% Bringing content creation in-house 23%
receipts 33%
8% Other 1%
Voice interfaces e.g. Amazon Echo, Google Home
10%
Respondents: 558
11%
Other
9%
B2B B2C
Respondents: 2,108
6.
act as a bridge between what have all-too- XD, which is enabling voice app design.
frequently been separate worlds. “Data has huge
possibilities. It sets you up for a future of incredibly
personalised, brilliant experiences to design.”
Control of data:
compliance and
walled gardens.
“
Creativity isn’t necessarily about
the big idea. It’s about showing
empathy for someone and
The ability to personalise in real time – a key theme Another key consideration is determining
then creating and delivering in the previous section of the report – ultimately whether long-term commercial objectives are
something that gives them a depends on companies having control of the best served by operating on closed platforms
data that powers the best possible experiences. – known commonly as ‘walled gardens’ 6 – that
little reason to smile. Things like In order to activate data, companies must also only let you play on their terms. This theme
the animation when you tip on have a strong grip on how they handle the has been thrust in the spotlight in 2018, amid
flow of information throughout both their own increased attention on data retention and sharing
Deliveroo. There’s only tension organisation and the entire partner ecosystem. practices of the Facebook and Google duopoly.
between creativity and the rest of
Tackling this issue of data control requires a focus on
the organisation when creativity making sure that data is not wasted, by ensuring data
6. https://medium.com/mediarithmics-what-is/what-is-a-walled-garden-and-why-it-
is-the-strategy-of-google-facebook-and-amazon-ads-platform-296ddeb784b1
becomes about the big campaign is ‘democratised’ and freed from departmental silos
idea because those can get in the or closed solutions. It also means making considered
choices when selecting which third parties to work
way of a seamless journey from with. The nature of the modern-day digital business
the customer point of view. means organisations must become increasingly
open to partners, with careful assessment of their
security policies increasingly vital for data hygiene.
Laurence Parkes
Chief Strategy Officer, Rufus Leonard
Figure 15: What impact has the increased focus on consumer data protection (e.g. the EU’s GDPR)
Figure 14: What impact has the increased focus on consumer data protection (e.g. the EU’s GDPR) had on your organisation? (regional comparison)
had on your organisation? (by CX maturity)
24% 8% 9% 8% 7% 6%
52%
51% 53%
64% 44% 60%
47%
40%
42%
37%
47%
42% 41%
16%
34%
32%
28%
8%
Respondents: 3,527
Walled gardens Figure 16: Which of the following are the top three advertising-related challenges most likely to keep
your clients awake at night? (the agency view)
It is evident that the issue of walled gardens in the
context of data, and the imbalances and limitations Walled audience data silos, e.g. Facebook, Google 44%
they place on marketing activities, is resonating
widely. If a business wants to reach millions of Integrating data across channels 41%
customers in a targeted and timely way, then they Personalizing consumer experiences without violating
36%
currently have little option but to engage with privacy
them on platforms such as Facebook and Google. Inconsistent measurement across media channels 34%
More than a quarter However, this typically means accepting a lower level
Pricing transparency (including agencies and tech partners) 32%
of data control and gaining only abridged insights
(28%) of marketers into the response to those campaigns, as well as Ad viewability 20%
cite difficulties inviting competitive risks around outside usage of
‘personalising that data and potential damage to the brand. Integrating adtech with martech 18%
customer experience Keynoting at ad:tech New York at the end of 2017, Ad fraud 17%
McDonald’s Global VP for Media, CRM and Digital
without violating Ad blocking 10%
Merchandising, Bob Rupczynski, said that brands
consumer privacy’ could gain major benefits by pursuing a more Managing move to in-house programmatic 9%
7. https://www.warc.com/NewsAndOpinion/News/39924
41%
38%
36%
35%
26%
24%
7.
Increased uptake of
artificial intelligence.
Yes – we are already using AI Yes – we are planning to invest in AI No – we have no plans to invest in AI
2018 2019
Research provider Tractica forecasts software There has been a 50% Although not all organisations are alive to the No other use case is close to having gained traction as
implementations falling under the AI umbrella will possibilities, Figure 18 shows the wide range of ways widespread as data analysis. However, it is notable that
generate $105.8bn in revenue by 2025, up from $8.1bn increase since last year in AI can help businesses interact more effectively there has been a rise in usage of AI for optimisation
in 2018, with the telecoms, consumer and advertising the proportion of larger with their customers. Keen interest continues to and testing. Nearly a quarter (24%) of AI users have
industries forming the three largest adopters.8 be shown in how AI can enhance data analysis, deployed the technology with this aim in mind, up
organisations stating promising to enable much more efficient mining from 20% in 2018 (see Figure 39 in Appendix 2).
This growing interest in AI is evidenced by they are using AI. and examination of the huge volume of data –
Figure 17 which shows a 50% increase since last both structured and unstructured – generated by It is also instructive that CX leaders are twice as likely
year in the proportion of larger organisations campaigns and other customer interactions. as others to be using AI within their organisations
(£150m+) already using AI, up from 24% to 36%. (Figure 19). These organisations are more likely to
This compares to only 12% of smaller companies The ability to autonomously evaluate and learn is recognise that AI can power greater relevance and
reporting use of AI (see Figure 37 in Appendix 2). perceived to lend itself naturally to predictive analytics, better personalisation through better informed
bringing organisations new levels of intelligence split-second decisions that can dramatically
and insight regarding likely future trends. Half of impact the consumer’s impression of a brand in a
8. https://www.tractica.com/newsroom/press-releases/artificial-intelligence- respondents that are already using AI are doing so particular context and given moment in time.9
software-market-to-reach-105-8-billion-in-annual-worldwide-revenue-by-2025/
for analysis of data, while analytics is the business
function where companies are most likely to have 9. https://www.adobe.com/uk/modal-offers/artificial_
intelligence_context_is_everything.html
deployed the technology (see Figure 38 in Appendix 2).
“
Organizations with annual revenues of more than $195m
Methodology note: This question was conditional on using AI. Respondents: 322 On the one side, While many companies are now embracing AI,
there are signs that there is still a lingering lack
automation is touted of awareness about AI’s promise for delivering
as freeing [marketers] performance improvement – whether in terms
According to Kristof Fahy, interim CMO of “There’s still a big piece of work to do in getting consumers of efficiencies or revenue gain. It also appears
Checkatrade.com: “Automation and the ability to who have been resistant to digital transformation to up to be creative and that many of the businesses that are abreast with
deal with some of the grunt stuff in life like online change their behaviour. Digitally enabled conversational on the other it’s going AI capabilities remain in experimentation mode
shopping is an interesting space. We don’t talk banking is a developing technology that will improve and are yet to firm up a concrete roadmap.
enough about how we serve customers coming to the way customers interface with banks, delivering
to help generate smart
us. That’s where you can join data, AI and machine more efficient, always on-solutions. There is still a lot data to deliver really Only 16% of larger organisations (Figure 20) deem
learning, and really help customers. The happier of dependency between customers and traditional solutions ‘too expensive’, and only 18% report they are
interesting and smooth ‘not advanced enough’. Instead, the sticking point for
your customers, the more they spend with you. channels such as phone, so we are constantly building
learnings around customer interactions to create better customer journeys. many appears a lack of awareness and understanding
“On the one side, automation is touted as freeing experiences when and where customers require as they about the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of AI. A third (33%) of larger
[marketers] up to be creative and on the other it’s are increasingly global and mobile. There is still a long Kristof Fahy organisations cite ‘no perceived need’, while 37%
going to help generate smart data to deliver really way to go, however AI and related technology will play a Interim CMO, Checkatrade.com concede a ‘lack of knowledge on how they can use AI’,
interesting and smooth customer journeys.” key role in enabling this for our customers in the future.” and 38% have not yet ‘assessed how they could use AI’.
Figure 20: Why is your organisation not using or planning to use AI? Figure 21: When you think about technology of the future like self-driving cars or grocery stores
(larger organisations, £150m+ revenues) without employees, how does it make you feel? (all respondents)
UK
18%
18%
Italy 10%
France 8%
Sweden 7%
This report is based on an online survey of business Switzerland 5%
professionals, carried out in November and December 2018.
Netherlands 4%
Austria 3%
A total of 12,815 respondents took part in the survey, including
Spain 3%
60% from the client-side and 40% from the supply-side
Belgium 2%
(including agency marketers, consultants and those working
for technology vendors or other service providers). Norway 2%
Denmark 2%
Respondents: 5,798
Figure 22: In which region are you based? Figure 24: In which of the following countries are you based? (APAC respondents)
47% Australia / New Zealand 25%
Taiwan 17%
India 16%
China 6%
24% Singapore 4%
Malaysia 3%
14% Philippines 2%
Thailand 2%
8%
2% 5% Indonesia 2%
Japan 1%
Europe Asia United States Australia / New Middle East Other
Zealand
Other 4%
Respondents: 12,815
Respondents: 3,797
Analytics 17% Figure 25: What best describes your job role?
23%
IT 17%
15% 33%
Manager
Operations 11% 22%
6%
Marketing 10% 18%
15% Junior executive / associate
7% 12%
Customer service
8%
6% 15%
Ecommerce Director / senior director
7% 25%
Advertising 5%
9%
4%
Creative / design 4% C-level / general manager
6% 10%
Web development 4%
1% 4%
Board level
Content / editorial 4% 9%
4%
Sales 3% 3%
2% VP / SVP / EVP
1% 4%
Mobile
11% 23%
Other Other
4%
18%
Company respondents Agency respondents
Company respondents Agency respondents
Figure 39: With regards to automation of specific marketing-related activities, what is your Figure 26: Which business function does your role most closely align with? (company respondents)
organisation currently using AI for?
Creative / design 28%
Analysis of data 50%
51% Marketing 23%
Optimization and testing 20%
24%
23% IT 10%
On-site personalization 22%
Email marketing 27% Content / editorial 7%
22%
Programmatic advertising 21%
19% Web development 4%
Automated campaigns 19%
18% Operations 4%
Content creation 21%
18%
Analytics 4%
Image recognition and/or processing 20%
17%
16% Advertising 3%
Digital asset management 11%
Video recognition and/or processing 12% Ecommerce 3%
11%
Creative and design work 16%
11% Customer service 2%
Automated offers (e.g. coupon codes) 10%
8% Sales 2%
Other 6%
11%
13% Other 10%
Don’t know 8%
39% 37%
19%
32%
15%
31%
12%
11%
4%
Creative / design Marketing Advertising IT Ecommerce Other B2B B2C B2B and B2C (equally)
Figure 28: In which business sector is your organisation? (company respondents) Figure 30: What is your annual company revenue?
Retail / Ecommerce 7%
Consumer Goods 5%
16%
15%
Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals 5% 13%
11%
Charities and Non-Profit 5% 10%
46%
43%
Appendix 2:
Other selected charts. 28%
27%
18%
17%
12%
9%
Figure 31: To what extent does digital permeate your own organisation’s marketing activities?
We have a highly integrated, We have a somewhat We have a fragmented We have little or no cloud-
14% cloud-based technology stack integrated, cloud-based approach with inconsistent based technology
13% technology stack integration between
We are a digital-first organization 11% technologies
11%
10% 2018 2019
14%
16%
Digital permeates all our marketing activities 15% Respondents 2019: 3,643
15% Respondents 2018: 3,181
14%
43%
42%
Digital permeates most of our marketing activities 46%
45% Figure 33: Proportion of responding companies that exceeded their top 2018 business goal by a
44% significant margin (for different types of technology setup)
20%
21%
Digital marketing is very much separate 19%
20% 30%
20%
10%
8%
Don’t know 9%
9%
12%
9%
We have a highly integrated, We have a somewhat We have a fragmented We have little or no cloud-
cloud-based technology stack integrated, cloud-based approach with inconsistent based technology
technology stack integration between
technologies
Respondents: 3,241
Respondents: 1,040
Figure 35: What best describes your (or your clients’) plans for CX-related technology spending
in 2019? Figure 37: Is your organisation using or planning to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) in 2019? (larger
versus smaller organisations)
52%
50%
59%
45%
41%
38%
36%
29%
26%
7% 12%
5%
We / they plan to increase our / their CX- We / they plan to keep our / their CX- We / they plan to decrease our / their
related technology spending related technology spending the same CX-related technology spending Yes – we are already using AI Yes – we are planning to invest in AI No – we have no plans to invest in AI
Company respondents Agency respondents Organizations with annual revenues of less than $195m
Organizations with annual revenues of more than $195m
Company respondents: 2,593
Agency respondents: 2,325
Respondents: 2,103
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