Vantage point: Insights from cutting-edge research

Digital is fast-changing the rules of B2B consumer engagement

Disruptive innovations in mobility, social, analytics and cloud along with rapid adoption of concepts such as internet of things, virtual reality and artificial intelligence by customers has drastically altered the rules of engagement. The greatest impact these technologies have had is on the buying behaviour of business to business (B2B) customers. Their decision making has become akin to business to customers (B2C) consumers, fickle, highly informed and demanding both immediacy as well as convenience.

While some advancements are likely to unfold over a longer time frame, in 2017 businesses are likely to leverage and invest significantly in B2B marketing technologies. These include real time marketing, digital marketing hubs, virtual reality, predictive analytics, and personalisation. For example, relying increasingly on digital channels expectations of B2B customers around personalisation are rising. 

Government CIOs take to internet of things and open data

The rapid pace of technological and societal change has given government chief information officers a new sense of urgency and a willingness to experiment with smart city and open data initiatives, according to Gartner, Inc. If managed effectively, this shift will position governments at the core of technological innovation in society.

By 2019, 50 per cent of citizens in million-people cities will benefit from smart city programmes by voluntarily sharing their personal data. The volume and diversity of the data generated by citizens will continue to grow in line with the proliferation of consumer devices and the internet of things. Citizens will experience some of the benefits of sharing data passively, through government and commercial collaboration. As this hyper connectivity picks up pace, however, citizens will become more aware of the value of their “life data” and will be willing to proactively exchange it for “in the moment” value.

Shared services, hi-tech and life sciences to power hiring in 2017

According to Mercer’s 2016 India Total Remuneration Survey, organisations are expecting to increase salaries by 10 per cent across industries and career levels in 2017, and 54 per cent of these companies are expecting to increase their headcount. The comprehensive survey represents 768 organisations across various industry sectors. Among different industries surveyed, the projected salary increase ranges from 10 per cent to 11 per cent overall, with relatively higher increases for the life sciences and shared services industries. Further, the survey findings indicate that over a five year period, real wage growth has however been steadily rising, on account of reduced inflation, thereby indicating real wage increase for employees and increasing real wage cost for employers. The talent shortage story is further accentuated by hiring intentions. In 2017, one in two companies is planning to increase headcount, with shared services, hi-tech and life sciences leading the pack, similar to what was seen in the past two years.