Salesforce State of Marketing report puts customer experience in focus for HK/Singapore

Customer experience is Hong Kong and Singapore’s barometer for marketing success according to the latest - and fifth - edition of Salesforce’s State of Marketing report The report is based on the responses of more than 4,100 full-time marketing leaders surveyed worldwide, across North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Europe. According to Salesforce, the study reveals that as marketers attempt to leverage AI and data sources, they are coming into conflict with privacy concerns and customer trust challenges As an example, Salesforce cites that though AI in marketing has grown at a 44% rate since 2017, only 30% of marketers are completely satisfied with their ability to balance it with privacy. Some of the regional specific findings for Hong Kong and Singapore include: Marketing becomes the cross-functional glue of customer experiences35% of Hong Kong marketers and 42% of Singapore marketers say that marketing leads customer experience initiatives across their businessesAI and trust underpin customer experiencesIn Hong Kong, 26% of Hong Kong marketers use AI and 17% of marketers use voice-activated personal assistants in marketing efforts In Singapore, 31% of marketers use AI and 26% of marketers use voice-activated personal assistants in marketing effortsMarketers report personalisation ROI across the customer journey79% of Hong Kong marketers and 84% of Singapore marketers say personalisation improves their overall marketing programMarketers realize the importance of prioritizing privacy, but some struggle to deliverIn Hong Kong, 32% of Hong Kong marketers feel challenged to balance personalisation with privacy, and 33% of marketers say they go beyond regulations and industry standards to protect customer privacy In Singapore, 32% of marketers feel challenged to balance personalisation with privacy, 37% say they go beyond regulations and industry standards to protect customer privacyNew realities up the ante for data unification37% of Hong Kong marketers and 48% of Singapore marketers report having a completely unified view of customers’ data sourcesMarketers strive for real-time engagement across channels44% of marketers in Hong Kong say they engage customers in real-time across one or more marketing channels. In Singapore, 57% of marketers report the same.Real-time data analytics on the rise across both marketsIn Hong Kong, the top three metrics tracked by marketers are revenue growth, customer retention rates and sales effectiveness The top three metrics tracked by Singapore marketers are revenue growth, customer satisfaction metrics and sales effectiveness