Marketers in Asia are following their Western counterparts by focusing on personalisation and tech that will improve data analytics as they look to satisfy consumers eager for relevant content, a new joint study from Epsilon and Forrester Consulting has found.
Six in ten expect to spend more on technology during the next 12 months and 71% want to invest in marketing performance measurements specifically to improve the success of their content campaigns. However, just 15% of marketers in India said that they have considered creating a GDPR strategy.
Consumers want brands to move away from traditional, outdated methods of engagement, though there appears to be a disconnect here with marketers. 74% of brands said that they still use SMS to deliver engaging messages, when a mere 2% of consumers prefer this channel.
Rather than short ads and offers, consumers want personalised content that is relevant to them. 63% said that they prefer this targeted method of engagement and added that they were more likely to reward a brand that uses personalisation with a purchase of a product or service.
Epsilon’s Country Head Ashish Sinha said: “This research is a barometer for marketers to guide them in reorienting their strategies and priorities to serve their consumers better and more effectively. We need to help marketers understand what they are misreading when it comes to customer engagement.”
Sinha added that Indian marketers are still falling short in terms of mobile-readiness and cross-channel expertise and will need to do better in 2019 to drive engagement.
