Industry 4.0 and forecasting the future !

Ever since the Industrial revolution, there has been no looking back. Technology has
been growing by leaps and bounds. In every domain of business be it FMCG,
healthcare, education, BFSI, travel , hospitalilty you name it, technology has brought
about a dawn of innovation and disruption in these industries. Disruption meant every
organization should upskill their workforce and recruit new talents at regular intervals to
make sure they survive and grow with the changes. Innovation meant companies
cannot rely on same ideas and methods and continuously must evolve to keep pace
with the dynamic business landscape.

Whenever we speak about adopter of new technologies in the market , we classify them
in three broad categories which are [1]:
 Tech Leaders: They are the first to migrate and adopt to the new technology in
the market staying ahead in the curve .
 Tech Followers : They are the next to tech leaders , and take more time to get
used to the technological changes.
 Tech Laggards: They are the last one in the race and take considerable time to
approve and adopt to the changes in technology forming the bottom of the curve.
Source :BCG economic impact study quantitative survey , April 2013
 When we speak about marketing , the first concept we have in mind is that of a
product or service which has been developed or maybe developed to solve
certain needs of the customers. Marketeers do a lot of research to ensure the
STP (Segmentation ,targeting and positioning) approach is successful and the
product is marketed effectively. The main objective being to make the consumer
aware about the product and its benefits hence trying to position it in the minds of
consumers as an item to satisfy a particular need. To do this a lot of
psychological studies and consumer behavior analysis is needed to be able to
understand what the consumer exactly wants or maybe to create a demand of a
new product as research shows consumers don’t know what they want unless
you show them the product as rightly pointed out by Steve Jobs “People don’t
know what they want until you show it to them”. Some people in the industry
call it radical innovation.
With the advent of digital marketing , I believe the battle is half won , as you have
Customer data at a click’s reach. The very seeds of digital marketing was laid
with the first live broadcast from an opera performance at the Metropolitan which
made people buy tickets to the show.

Again we classify marketing activities into Inbound or outbound. Digital Marketing

comes under inbound umbrella. It involves using internet, social media, mails and other
electronic means to reach your target audience at the right place and most importantly,
the right time. The best digital marketers have a clear picture of how each digital
marketing campaign supports their overarching business goals.
Hubspot being a disruptor in this sector has made phenomenal contributions to digital
marketing which has made business schools of the world to develop a case study out of
it. The digital marketing sector has shown a healthy growth in the recent years as an
average an Indian spends about 4-5 hours a day scrolling through social media, emails,
and browsers. The growing market of gadgets like smartphones, laptops, tablets, etc
has only increased the pace of usage and penetrated the market to make it reach to a
wider set of audience.

Source:https://www.roirevolution.com/blog/2019/09/digital-marketing-infographic/
Understanding the consumer sentiments and creating content customized for individual
needs is what distinguishes the power of digital marketing in breaking the limits imposed
by conventional marketing practices. Such a disruption meant companies cannot afford
to not invest in latest digital marketing practices by either developing an in-house
dedicated team or outsourcing to pioneers in the sector, say for instance the likes of
Ogilvy etc. Because the opportunity costs involved as well as the stakes against
surviving in the competitive market is pretty high , companies cannot afford to let go of
this opportunity.

Digital disruption has changed the way consumers make purchase decisions and buy
products. The entire value chain right from the purchase of a product or service is
reengineered [2].
If we take the classic example of Amazon, they keep close track of customer’s choice
and preference on the basis of the recent purchase made or a recently viewed product.
Few moments later suggestions start flooding in on any other websites the customer
vists .This is where a line has to be drawn between marketing the product and causing
frustration in customer minds caused by the chaser ads popping up here and there.I
believe this area is still unexplored and will be the next happening area of research for
companies with the new tools made possible due to Machine Learning and artificial
intelligence ,
Digital transformation is already addressing several business pain points which are as
follows:
 Audience engagement and communication
 Business revenue
 Internal business optimization
 Worker productivity
Companies are hence making the best use of the technologies available to make sure
business is made much less complicated.

As per NASSCOM there are 4 ways brands are improving Digital Customer experience
[3]
:

Although with the increasing use of technology and internet , an inevitable threat of
hackers , malware , wrong public message etc. have to be taken under consideration.
Viral posts containing wrong information, fradulency , misrepresentation can take place
hence a proper legal framework and policies need to be kept in place to ensure they
don’t harm the business and damage can be controlled as and when required.
Companies have to consider the downtime and lost revenue being caused when
solutions [4]:
 Aren’t implemented in a timely manner
 Acquisition touchpoints aren’t firing correctly
 Third party software breaks
 They simply have a support question but can’t reach a representative in a timely
manner
Low-cost providers typically focus on customer acquisition, not customer service. Low-
cost providers “innovate” by offering new solutions from third parties rather than
developing the technology themselves, which is the only way to fully ensure integration
is accurate and easy to implement and giving you a single point of contact. And
because low-cost providers solely focus on their – and their investor’s – bottom lines,
they aren’t focused on the ROI of their customers.Performance and metrics are
secondary.
To conclude , digital disruption has its own advantages and disadvantages . The
implementation mainly lies in the hands of the companies and the kind of investment
they make into it. A well planned and well executed department to carry out the digital
transformation journey can take the organization to new heights else it can destroy it in
moments considering the wide reach of the digital platform worldwide.

Reference links:
[1] https://image-src.bcg.com/Images/Ahead_of_the_Curve_Oct_2013_tcm9-94245.pdf
[2] https://www.alessiobresciani.com/digital-marketing/digital-disruption-how-continuous-
evolution-is-reshaping-industries-and-brands/
[3] https://www.nasscom.in/knowledge-center/publications/how-digital-transformation-
reshaping- businesses-meet-digital-age-cx
[4] https://www.listrak.com/blog/digital-marketing-risks-to-avoid