New research from Resulticks finds that a third of all companies feel that an overwhelming volume of data, and the inability to integrate data are two of the top challenges that enterprise businesses face in Southeast Asia (SEA).

Titled “The Omnichannel Imperative”, the newly released report also found over half of enterprise businesses in SEA listed real-time marketing, as well as omnichannel delivery and engagement as their top priorities in 2019. In addition, nearly six in ten organisations find that existing marketing platforms fall short of delivering multichannel campaign orchestration.

The study, which was commissioned by Resulticks and conducted by Econsultancy, surveyed 345 enterprise businesses in Southeast Asia.

“As the number of marketing channels expands, brands find it more difficult to make themselves heard,” said Redickaa Subrammanian, founder and CEO of Resulticks. “The more successful brands aren’t just multi-channel, they’re omnichannel. They’ve acquired the knowledge and tools required to identify and interact in real time at every critical point in the customer journey regardless of channel or device, online or off.”

Among businesses in SEA, there was also a difference in priorities between companies that had fully embraced omnichannel marketing (leaders) and those that were still adopting the sophisticated approach (laggards). The survey results revealed that the leaders were more prone to focus on customer personalisation than laggards (63% vs 45%) as well as a 360-degree customer view (62% vs. 46%). This indicates companies employing omnichannel marketing are better able to use customer data in a more integrated manner.

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In terms of marketing channels, digital touchpoints continue to dominate, with over half of companies saying they use such digital channels as social media, website, email, ecommerce and web/mobile push notification. However, there continues to be significant usage of offline marketing channels, including in-store or in branch interactions (48%) and print media (41%). Additionally, technologies such as beacons (i.e. technology that enables location-based marketing) and QR codes are often being used to bridge these digital and physical interactions.

Jefrey Gomez, Managing Partner, Econsultancy Asia Pacific, said: “Omnichannel is an area of digital marketing that many talk about but is rarely done well. There is a great opportunity for growth for software vendors as the report finds only 26% of executives rate their multichannel campaign orchestration capabilities as ‘excellent’, yet Southeast Asian companies are planning to increase omnichannel technology investment during 2019.”

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The report also identified key recommendations for companies looking to reach their customers more effectively – some of these include:

1. Assess the data situation: It is critical to understand what customer data your company currently has and the granularity of that data. From here, it is easier to map out gaps and priorities.
2. Focus on the customer journey: This requires both a qualitative and quantitative analysis to identify customer pain points, and the “when” and “where” required to engage with them.
3. Make sure new solutions integrate: Companies should ensure that any new solutions or platform integrate with their existing systems – this will allow them to leverage existing data and speed through the setup process.

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