2016 Predictions: Teradata

With 2016 nearly upon us, were running daily pieces from industry experts on the trends they expect to see in the coming year. Today, its the turn of Sean Shoffstall, VP of innovation and strategy at Teradata.

Teradata Sean ShoffstallToday’s consumer can communicate with multiple brands at any given time or place, which presents marketers with an opportunity to craft accurate profiles based on customer location, preferences and appropriate time to interact. In addition, the explosion of connected devices continues to create numerous opportunities and touchpoints for marketers to reach end users.

In attempts to increase customer loyalty, brand awareness and revenue, marketers are focusing on meeting consumers’ needs and delivering a full, immersive and individualised experience, utilising analytics to grab user data from applications and mobile devices. Geo-location and tracking efforts, for example, allow marketers to offer customised options and features but also push the line on users’ security.

In BDO’s latest Retail Compass Survey of CMOs, mobile is identified as a goldmine for tapping the full potential of the omnichannel marketing approach. The influx of user data from multiple touchpoints and devices offers valuable insights to boost individualized marketing efforts in 2016, and will open the door to opportunities (and challenges) to reaching consumers anytime, anywhere. Here are some of the major changes likely to impact on mobile marketing in the coming year.

The revival of experiential marketing
As we see Virtual Reality becoming more prevalent, expect to see a resurgence of experimental marketing. Last year, Volvo came out with a Google Cardboard app that gives users a full VR test drive on mobile devices. The app allows users to virtually immerse themselves in a drive through the mountains and get a feel for the real deal.

Expect this trend to experience a major uptick this year, from the expected players, like theme parks and automobiles, to the unexpected.

The app ecosystem will continue to dominate
New functionality additions to the app ecosystem will continue to lead change in the mobile marketing industry and directly affect the consumption and usage of apps.

Push locations, for example, have transitioned from simple text messages and limited functionality to action buttons to link or trigger specific locations. Although personalisation is at users’ fingertips, sharing locations, mobile payments and connecting to public wi-fi brings fear of mobile breaches. External sources peering into users’ attributes and usage patterns increases the risk of fraud, putting into question how much personal information is actually needed to complete a transaction.

Marketers will lead the charge on consumer privacy
In 2016, expect to see an increased focus on consumer privacy. The new spin on this truth? Much of it will be led by marketers. Vendors have begun pushing the boundaries – if not over-stepping – of second party data. This data expands the tools marketers have available to deliver a more coherent and complete user experience, but it comes with its own consequences as data leakage shifts industry focus onto consumer privacy and related issues.

Content providers and marketers will need to closely monitor trends related to mobile device evolution and play a direct role in proactively combating the issue. Fortunately, marketers are becoming more and more aware of the need to be transparent and to responsibly collect and use customer data.

Sean Shoffstall is VP of innovation and strategy at Teradata