In this interactive panel discussion, the panelists and participants exchange ideas and insights into how they and their organizations use data to prepare for a digital future and the challenges they face. Here are some sound bites from the discussion.
“We have realized that there is a lot of potential in digitization and technology. We see a lot business models that transform the organization from a traditional product manufacturer to a service provider.”- Sascha Vukovic, Corporate Planning and Product Strategy – Strategy Digitalization, BMW
“Using data, we can see how people are moving between different digital touchpoints. It gives us really valuable insights into how customers are using various touchpoints and in what phase of their consumer decision journey they are in each of them.”- Bas Spierenburg, Global CRM and Mobile Manager, AkzoNobel
“Culture determines the speed of digital transformation, as well as the opportunities. But changing a culture change takes time. If you consider a very traditional organization, with set processes and procedures and you want to disrupt them- it takes time. We call this legacy. You cannot change the legacy of an organization in less than 5 years.”- Marcus Hartmann, Executive Director Big Data Analytics, Bisnode
“We have always had that external landscape of privacy and regulations like in US or FTC and a variety of external factors guiding privacy of consumers and business. But I think it ultimately breaks down to the value exchange between the business and our data. So, if you have a high-value exchange then people would probably be willing to give you more data.”- Blake Cahill, Global Head of Digital & Social Marketing, Royal Philips
“In the future we see our key customers’ journeys getting more complex. We don’t want to look at just customers buying cars. We want to have a more binding relationship with the customer by providing them with services beyond sales and after sales.”- Sascha Vukovic, Corporate Planning and Product Strategy – Strategy Digitalization, BMW
“The automotive industry is in a very disruptive situation and the traditional manufacturers have realized that things have been changing which is good and it’s not just about the new competitors but it’s also about the opportunities that disruption is going to provide us with. Here you need to figure out what is your overarching strategy on where to cooperate and where to compete.”- Sascha Vukovic, Corporate Planning and Product Strategy – Strategy Digitalization, BMW
“Back in 2014, we realized from data that color is the number 1 decision factor when consumers are choosing their paint, and they struggle to visualize it on their wall. Consumers also seek reassurance with friends and family before they move to the next stage of purchase. So we took those insights to create an app in which we built augmented reality with a live visualization function. This year we brought in a sharing option as well- they can now share their ideas with their loved ones.”- Bas Spierenburg, Global CRM and Mobile Manager, AkzoNobel
“One of the biggest challenges that we see at the moment is that there are a lot of concerns about privacy. Consumers have no clue what’s going to happen with their personal data. This is because governance models completely differ from country to country and from vertical to vertical.”- Marcus Hartmann, Executive Director Big Data Analytics, Bisnode
“I think data privacy and brand go hand in hand. If you break that, you have broken pretty much everything….and it’s really hard to rebuild that.”- Blake Cahill, Global Head of Digital & Social Marketing, Royal Philips
“It would be great to start sharing more data between players in the ecosystem. In the end we all have our brand propositions. We can close the loop in the customer journey better if we can work together to get better insights into consumer segmentation, what drives consumers to the store and the reasons they buy.”- Bas Spierenburg, Global CRM and Mobile Manager, AkzoNobel
“If you have good understanding about the available data, in the right context and at the right time, then it is helpful. Otherwise you are just loading up your databases over and over again and managing vast amount of data. So focus on the data and analytical capabilities that is relevant and useful. This is called contextual and intelligent text mining and this is the future.”- Marcus Hartmann, Executive Director Big Data Analytics, Bisnode
“The most valuable companies in the world today are built around four things – software, services, data analytics and products. If you don’t have those four pieces driving the future values of your company, and you are just sitting there making standalone products, you probably will not be here in the next 20 years or so.”- Blake Cahill, Global Head of Digital & Social Marketing, Royal Philips
