Article

Kevin Adema
Kevin Adema 7 February 2017

The Digital Tipping Point

Adobe’s recently released 2017 Digital Trends reports proves that we’re on the verge of a new digital era…and it’s about to tip.

In Malcolm Gladwell’s debut book, The Tipping Point, he explains the mysterious changes that happen in society once a moment of critical mass, or a “boiling point” is reached. Once this happens, “ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread like viruses do.”

We are at the digital tipping point.

When you read Adobe’s recently released 2017 Digital Trends report (where they surveyed over 14,000 digital marketing and e-commerce professionals across EMEA, North America and Asia Pacific markets), they accurately show how as a marketing society, we are on the verge of a new digital era. And it’s about to tip.

Highlighting a few pivotal realities:

  1. The era of customer experience is here (we’ve been talking about this in previous posts)
  2. Brands are chasing the consumer with content and design so that the brand experience is personal, compelling and memorable
  3. The fundamental foundation of data is lacking – brands are becoming overextended, neglecting the basics and as a result, many businesses are struggling
  4. Brands that deliver excellent customer experience AND data-driven marketing will truly set themselves apart

This is the tipping point reality: brands must change to create a focus on the customer and it will happen when the following top priorities are embraced:

  1. The customer’s experience
  2. The content to support it
  3. Social media and new media engagement
  4. Personalization
  5. Marketing analytics  

Echoing Gladwell’s Law of the Few, marketers play the role of both Maven and Salesman. Salesmen are persuaders while Mavens are information specialists providing new information and “know how to share it with others.” As more and more marketers do this, the societal shift will occur and true digital marketing will be the Hush Puppies of the mid-1990’s. (a low-tier brand that rose to prominence)

What will cause it to tip?

Adobe again accurately speaks to this: “Driving digital transformation, which is intrinsically linked to creating a customer experience, requires the orchestration of numerous moving parts.”

Along with the priorities listed above, there are four major pain points that the report identified. Said differently, once these pain points are “solved” by marketers, the entire digital ecosystem will transform:

  1. Strategy
  2. Culture (where the customer comes first)
  3. Customer-centric design / user experience (includes copy)
  4. Data analytics

This has been coming for a while now and thanks to Adobe’s concrete proof, the demand priorities are now fully in front of marketers: customer-centric marketing, strategy, content, data.

The ultimate reality: The digital tip is going to happen.

The ultimate question for marketers: Will you be one of Gladwell’s select few or will you be left behind?

We designed the Mastering Digital Strategy program to ensure you’re in the select few; It covers the exact priorities Adobe clearly set out: customer-centric, strategy, content and data.

Take action and don’t be left behind.

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