Marketers in Australia and New Zealand are increasingly using smarter digital channels following the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Salesforce's sixth edition of the State of Marketing report.
The report collected data from nearly 7,000 marketing leaders across the globe, spanning six continents, just as the coronavirus crisis emerged.
It revealed that in addition to 5G, marketers in Australia and New Zealand also expect that augmented reality, virtual reality, and the expanded online population will also bring transformational impacts by 2030.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is challenging marketers to rethink every aspect of their business," Salesforce regional VP Kev Doyle says.
"Marketers will lead through this uncertain time by listening to their customers, focusing on being humble and taking a community-first lens."
The survey of 300 respondents from Australia and New Zealand uncovered three key trends.
Customer data sets the stage for empathetic marketing
As customers navigate a series of “new normals,” personalised, empathetic engagement has never been more important.
Delivering messages and offers that resonate with an individual’s unique needs and expectations requires deep insights.
Marketers are shifting how they source and manage customer data and ramping up use of technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) that help them make the most of it.
In Australia, marketers are expected to go from five data sources this year to seven projected data sources in 2021.
Marketing transformation takes on new urgency
The expectations and behaviours of consumers, businesses, and society at large are shifting rapidly.
Marketers are under tremendous pressure to overhaul their organisational models and use of technology to provide differentiated, digital-first customer engagement.
In Australia innovating is one of the key priorities for marketing leaders, while insufficient organisational structure and processes is one of their top challenges.
Marketers double down on business value
As businesses shift from crisis triage to recovery and adaptation, marketers have a unique opportunity to turn trusted customer relationships into business value.
Marketers increasingly track metrics like customer satisfaction, digital engagement, and lifetime customer value to gain a holistic picture of what’s working and what isn’t across the customer journey.
B2B marketers have a particularly strong role in business growth through account-based marketing (ABM).
In Australia, marketers’ top success metrics are sales effectiveness, customer referral rates and marketing leads.
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