Why technology needs a human touch to help justify sound investment

Matthew Simons, SVP, EMEA, Joseph Taylor, SVP Technology & Operations – International and Valerie Popeck, Head of Strategy & Insights, EMEA, Epsilon With digital innovation and new platform releases in the news every day, why are some organisations so reluctant to invest in technology? It may be surprising when you consider $100billion is spent on marketing technology every year, yet less so when you consider CMOs are saying 25 per cent of that investment is simply wasted.

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So what’s the story here? Why do businesses come up against insurmountable obstacles when going through the procurement process (or even before) for new tech platforms? Talking to many of our own clients, we’ve come to understand a very familiar theme. You can see the scale of the problem, and at the heart of it companies are not putting their customers first, with many seeking simply to deploy technology for technology’s sake.  

Putting humans over hype

  What do we mean by putting customers before technology? We’ve seen companies asking for technology based on particular channels: “I want to send more email,” or “we want campaigns based on SMS.” The problem with these impulses is that they fail to address what kind of business outcomes they need, and, more importantly, what type of experiences their customers expect. Marketers can influence their customers with every interaction, so long as those touchpoints are both personal and purposeful. Whether you deliver your message through email, with loyalty programmes or with digital or social media, it’s the customer that needs to be the driving force. Not the technology platform. Within your organisation and partners, you need to understand what experiences and interactions those customers want from you. People want to be recognised and understood by the brands they love. They also want to be moved and they want to see messages that are relevant. Every one of us is busy and harassed, and so the relevance and quality of messaging has never been more important. We encourage our partners and clients to put humans over hype. Hype, whether it’s fuelled by AI, chatbots or VR sets, won’t get you to your objectives. Placing your customers’ challenges at the heart of your work and collaborations will.

Here are three guiding principles to get more out of digital transformation:

• Be creative in your problem-solving. Invite your staff and partners to be creative and use the power of having numerous perspectives to enrich your ideas.

• Have confidence. Move away from what has worked in the past. It’s paramount that you are able to adapt and change to meet customers, wherever they are.

• Collaborate. Your business probably has a complex structure, so try hard to make sure the various departments in your organisation are talking to one another, and be sure to choose partners who can navigate smoothly among them, and who can reach your customers with the right tools and messages.

If you want to learn more about Epsilon solutions or to arrange a free Customer Experience Assessment, for deeper customer connections, get in touch.

If you want to explore more solutions and find out in more detail about connecting with your customers in a more meaningful way, we’d love to hear from you. Follow us @EpsilonEMEA and Epsilon EMEA Marketing Agency