CHICAGO, Dec. 17, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As customer engagement evolves, marketing decision makers can no longer depend on experience, intuition and secondhand information to illuminate the path forward. Brand success in 2019 and beyond means advancing from a digital-first philosophy to a data-first mindset that encompasses the customer journey in its totality, says Signal (www.signal.co), a leading provider of real-time customer data onboarding and identity resolution across all devices and channels.
Signal shares its forecast in a new report, “From Digital-First to Data-First: 2019 Marketing Predictions.” Noting that 2018 was a year when many in the industry recognized identity as a pillar of the customer relationship, Signal says that as consumer expectations for personalized experiences continue to increase, marketers will depend more than ever on enhanced, real-time data onboarding and activation to inform their strategies and build unshakeable customer loyalty.
New predictions for 2019 include:
- Convenience and customization will completely converge: Watch for brands of all shapes and sizes to explore emerging technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, augmented reality, facial recognition) granting consumers unprecedented flexibility and control over how they shop — and delivering marketers unprecedented access into the customer psyche.
- Onboarding will get sexy: As marketers scramble to deliver real-time personalization at scale, companies will take a closer look at their capabilities for resolving customer identity and achieving a true single view. Ultimately, continuous onboarding will make marketing more personal, which will drive brand loyalty, higher customer lifetime values, and better bottom lines.
- Brands will take back control of their data — and their future: Marketers collect and use customer data every day; it’s the essence of modern-day commercialism. In 2019 and forever after, it will be critical for brands to be completely transparent in their data collection and ensure its ownership and control, or else face scrutiny from industry regulators — and the cold shoulder from customers.
- Brick and clicks will become better together: It’s clear consumers are still shopping. What’s not always clear, however, is where and how they’re doing it. Customer identity resolution is no longer optional, but absolutely essential for survival. To succeed in 2019, retailers will not question the value of building an integrated customer identity asset — they’ll be celebrating how much revenue it drives, both on and offline.
“Data and identity are the connection point between all customer engagements, online and off, past and present,” said Mike Sands, CEO of Signal. “In 2019, we will see brands prioritizing their data like never before. It’s the decisive factor separating the interactions consumers crave at critical moments from the outdated, irrelevant and overplayed marketing ploys they ignore.”
Download Signal’s full report, “From Digital-First to Data-First: 2019 Marketing Predictions.”
About Signal
Signal is the leading independent provider of data onboarding and identity resolution technology for the enterprise. Signal’s platform empowers marketers to enhance their customer experience by providing contextual relevance at all points of engagement, regardless of place or time.
Today, Signal’s technology runs on more than 45,000 digital properties in 158 countries. The platform facilitates billions of data requests monthly, supporting top brands around the world generating more than $1.5 trillion in commerce, including Allstate, Audi, Crate & Barrel, JetBlue Airways, Starcom MediaVest Group, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, and many more.
Signal has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, appearing on the Inc. 500 list of the fastest growing companies each year between 2015 and 2018.
For more information, please visit: www.signal.co and follow Signal on LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter.
Media Contact:
Michael Tilus for Signal
michael@broadsheetcomms.com