5 digital trends driving business growth

Keeping up with the latest digital trends is increasingly important as businesses fight to maintain competitive advantage and ensure strategic objectives are met.

The digital space is evolving both locally and internationally as consumers become more discerning about the products and messaging they choose to engage with.

These top trends provide businesses with further insight into the digital landscape and are worth examining as they relate to the growth and reach of your enterprise.

1. Niche vs 360° consulting

Quality over quantity will be the rule of thumb over the next few years as the global demand for superior and relevant digital products explodes faster than companies are able to keep up. Instead of handing all their business to a single entity, companies are now seeing the value of partnering with various enterprises, from large to niche in scale and nature. With this new shift, companies are often choosing service providers that have mastered one or two areas of expertise rather than those that cast a wide net.

2. Getting closer to customers

Using algorithms and mapping technology offered on a variety of digital platforms will grow in popularity in 2016 and in years to come, allowing businesses to personalise user experiences. This means that business products/services can be aligned to the values and interests of their audience (based on online behaviour). The ability to analyse the data gathered from these technologies provides targeted information to businesses that are hungry to build and attract loyal customer bases. Continuon, a customer relationship management (CRM) tool, is one such example of new technology that is being developed. It allows businesses to engage with audiences on an individual level, helping to build targeted information based on their unique interests, activities and behaviours.

3. Redefining ‘digital’

In South Africa, the ‘digital agency’ is a term synonymous with the advertising industry, but overseas it is actually used to refer to digital technology in a broader sense, alluding to more than just marketing activities. We expect to see this term come into wider use in South Africa as businesses become familiar with its true meaning and impact – moving away from the silo interpretation of digital marketing.

4. The startup revolution

Global trends indicate that digital companies are increasingly acting as accelerators for start-ups looking for a development partner, helping to launch new products and services and in turn benefiting from working collaboratively with fresh, young minds. Platinum Seed is one of a few companies that have assisted with the development of various start-up apps and the process of taking these to market.

5. Customer experience

Consumers are increasingly basing their purchasing decisions on political, cultural and even philanthropic considerations and, more than ever, businesses need to have a finger on the pulse in order to deliver meaningful products and services.

Consumers are more likely to engage with business ‘X’, which tailors its offerings according to the unique purchase history and habits of customers, as opposed to business ‘Y’ that requires customers to go through a number of lengthy sign-up processes to access various customer features.

In short, customers are expecting businesses to use their data intelligently rather than abusively. While it will remain important, customer experience is about more than just tailored messaging. Seamless and consistent experiences across touchpoints and devices is also critical.