The much-discussed AI (artificial intelligence), fuelled by data, will be at the centre of marketing efforts in 2018. A survey by LinkedIn of 779 marketing professionals across India and other Asia-Pacific countries, says 94 per cent of respondents said data analytics would top the list of technologies deployed in marketing. Machine learning and programmatic ad-buying follow, in the quest for solutions that will deliver personalised marketing messages.
Over seventy per cent of Indian marketers plan to increase their budget for 2018, much higher than marketers in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Indian marketers will invest mainly in marketing automation, content and e-mail marketing, video content and influencer marketing. Customer acquisition and retention were seen as the key areas of focus with regards to business outcomes. Increasing brand awareness, improving quality of leads and customer loyalty were the most important aspects under these, for India, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong.
“As we enter 2018, technology will underpin all marketing activities, and teams will focus on outsourcing technical expertise while retaining an in-house focus on improving customer experience,” says Virginia Sharma, Director, Marketing Solutions, LinkedInIndia. India shows the biggest trend in outsourcing digital and data analytics activities, followed by creative storytelling, content generation and customer experience.
