Adobe Summit 2019: A Glimpse Into the Future of CX
The future of commerce was on display last week at Adobe Summit in Las Vegas, and the excitement felt by the thousands in attendance is still palpable. From the latest in CX innovations to Adobe’s newest products and services, Summit gave everyone in the industry a peek into what the future of digital experience holds.
There were some key themes that ran through almost every session throughout the week; namely personalization throughout the entire customer journey, how AI can optimize existing business processes and experiences, and how customer experience is re-defining consumer expectations.
Here are some key highlights:
A Renewed Focus on AI
Adobe has truly put an emphasis on the capabilities available in its Adobe Sensei AI platform and how it extends throughout the rest of Experience Cloud.
From writing predictive email subject lines in Campaign Standard to identifying new segments and audiences within Adobe Analytics and Adobe Audience Manager, Sensei is geared to take some of the guesswork away from the marketer.
Sensei aims to help “connect the dots” by finding those missing puzzle pieces that often get lost in the shuffle in larger data sets and campaigns. With so much of tomorrow’s experiences being steeped in data, AI applications like Sensei will prove critical to helping business users get the right content in front of the right audiences.
Analytics Driven Personalization
Adobe and Forrester spoke at length about how Personalization is not just a marketing conversation, but rather a product conversation. Activating and personalizing content across marketing communications and shopping experiences is a function of deeper understanding of the customer journey.
What Adobe aims to do is analyze the purchase path: awareness > try > buy > use > refresh and present relevant materials to shoppers in each phase. Forrester shared a simple assessment that allows organizations to measure how effective they can be on personalization based on the systematic use of analysis for decision-making.
Experience-Driven Commerce
At an event like Adobe Summit, the keynote usually launches a theme that winds its way through the rest of the event. The 2019 keynote on the importance of customer experience did exactly that.
Adobe presented new research that unequivocally revealed that customers are now placing greater importance in the shopping experience rather than in branding or price when it comes to loyalty. Essentially, customers are willing to pay more for their products in exchange for higher-quality experiences.
Adobe is uniquely positioned to drive better customer experiences through its Experience Cloud by providing relevant content and messaging to customers. It combines this along with the right data and insights post-campaign to drive customers to additional purchases or interactions with a given brand.
Marketo Flexes Its Muscle
For many prior Summit attendees, this was their first exposure to Marketo: Adobe’s recently acquired marketing automation platform.
The final day of Summit was devoted to breakout sessions at Wynn Las Vegas which centered around the capabilities and functionality of Marketo. While primarily a platform for B2B Marketing Automation, Marketo will be an important piece of the Adobe Experience Cloud as it also leverages Adobe Sensei to bring lost and lapsed leads to marketer’s attention. Look for Marketo to be a key area of focus for Adobe in the next few years as the capabilities it offers are at the top of the class in the marketing technology space.
In sum, the main message at Adobe Summit 2019 was that change is the only constant in today’s digital world. Buyers and shoppers no longer base their decisions on traditional advertising; rather, they turn to the brands that can deliver engaging, integrated experiences and quickly address their needs.
Capgemini and Adobe stand side-by-side to bring these experiences to bear. Adobe’s market-leading technology and Capgemini’s Experience Design, Transformation Consulting, and Architecture and Technology Integration capabilities allow clients to create experiences that provide rapid and sustainable value for both the business and end customer.
Together, we drive game-changing transformations for clients across a wide span of industries. If you are looking to transform your business and redefine your customer experience, reach out today.
