Seventy per cent business and IT decision makers said customer retention is their key priority for the next 12 to 24 months and more than half (53 per cent) are likely to adopt new innovation to achieve this goal, according to a Salesforce research.
Asia (77 per cent) is being viewed as the region to lead innovation globally in the next five years, with America at a close second (64 per cent). Japan, Korea and China are the top three Asian countries seen to be driving the trajectory.
In Asia, innovation is seen as the process of creating new and novel solutions to fulfil unmet customer needs. Asian businesses prioritise innovation that empowers them to retain their customers (70 per cent) and more than half (53 per cent) are likely to adopt innovation that achieves this goal. Companies in India (93 per cent), Singapore (88 per cent), Philippines (88 per cent) and Malaysia (82 per cent) are most likely to invest in technology to boost customer retention. Technology is viewed as a valuable tool in accelerating productivity (62 per cent) and providing better customer support (38 per cent).
Enterprise Apps (83 per cent), Cloud Computing (82 per cent) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) are the top three strategic investment priorities for Asian businesses.
Additionally, when presented with capabilities of a CRM platform powered by artificial intelligence (AI), 78 per cent say they are likely to adopt. Singapore businesses find the concept appealing (84 per cent) and relevant (76 per cent) but only 68 per cent are likely to adopt. India (90 per cent), Indonesia (83 per cent), Vietnam (85 per cent), Philippines (84 per cent) and Thailand (84 per cent) are most likely to adopt while Hong Kong is least likely to (63 per cent).
The positive impact of a culture that empowers employees to be innovative is evident in the 77 per cent who agree that innovation has transformed their company operations favourably, with 80 per cent of this group prioritising innovation within their organization in the next 12 to 24 months. This group of Asian companies are more likely to invest in technology regardless of economic outlook and 79 per cent said they will increase their technology spend even in an underperforming economy where 84 per cent of them view technology as a long term revenue driver.
Costs, complexity of technology and lack of talent are the three key hurdles that are holding Asian companies back from adopting innovation. One in three Asian companies believe that future innovation will be driven by public-private partnerships.
“This research shines a spotlight on the innovation landscape in Asia and reaffirms our vision for customer-centricity. The mobile-first culture of immediacy has its roots here in Asia and shapes the new business imperative for Asian companies. The appetite for artificial intelligence by Asian companies is continuing to grow. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is upon us, and companies that harness the predictive prowess of A.I. are well-placed to address challenges in this dynamic region,” said Robert Wickham, Regional Vice President, Innovation & Digital Transformation, APAC, Salesforce.
