Salesforce report highlights AI adoption & data challenges in Singapore

Salesforce has unveiled its latest "State of Marketing" report, shedding light on the latest trends and challenges faced by the marketing sector. The new report incorporates insights from over 4,800 marketing leaders across 29 countries, including a specialised focus on 100 marketing leaders from Singapore.

The report indicates that the majority of marketers in Singapore are increasingly integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into their workflows. Approximately 78% have either experimented with or fully implemented AI technology. Despite this adoption, challenges remain, particularly in the realm of data management. Only 21% of Singaporean respondents expressed full satisfaction with their capability to unify customer data sources, ranking second-lowest globally, just ahead of the Netherlands at 19%.

Key local insights highlight that marketing teams leveraging AI are setting themselves apart. High-performing marketing teams are 3.1 times more likely than their underperforming counterparts to have fully integrated AI within their operations. Predominant AI use cases among marketers include content generation, automation of customer interactions, and improving customer segmentation and lookalike audience modelling.

A significant hurdle identified is the level of access to real-time data. Only 42% of marketers in Singapore have access to real-time data for campaign execution, the lowest globally. Additionally, 57% require assistance from IT departments to access such data. The importance of unified, real-time data is emphasised, as businesses increasingly seek to offer personalised customer experiences, especially in a time where third-party cookies are being phased out.

Despite the abundance of data sources, marketers are often hindered by the challenge of utilising this data effectively. In Singapore, only 49% of marketing leaders report tracking Customer Lifetime Value (CTV), and 84% exhibit a clear understanding of marketing's impact on revenue. The struggle to connect disparate data points to deliver personalised experiences underscores the pressure faced by marketers to innovate and optimise their strategies.

Another area of concern for Singaporean marketers is improving marketing Return on Investment (ROI) amidst a highly competitive landscape. Yet, difficulties in measuring results and engaging with customers in real-time persist as significant challenges. The report reveals a growing interest in account-based marketing (ABM) and loyalty programmes, aimed at better customer acquisition and retention. Although 60% of marketing leaders claim that loyalty data is fully integrated across all touchpoints, only 35% believe that loyalty programme functionalities are accessible across all touchpoints.

The report also delves into personalisation, noting that marketers are moving beyond broad audience segmentations, focusing instead on specific identifiers such as individual preferences or past interactions. High-performing marketing teams excel in personalising experiences across multiple channels, averaging six channels, compared to underperforming teams which average just two channels.

Wendy Walker, Vice President of Marketing at Salesforce ASEAN, commented on the findings: "As marketers, we face the challenge of doing more with less, especially in terms of meeting rising consumer expectations around personalisation. AI plays a crucial role in making personalisation scalable, enhancing brand consistency, and improving team efficiency. However, the unification of data across systems is critical to achieve a comprehensive view of customer engagements. Technology should empower creativity, allowing marketers to deliver meaningful and relevant content to their audiences, a goal only achievable with trusted data."

Overall, while the integration of AI into marketing workflows is being embraced by Singaporean marketers, the critical need for unified, real-time data remains a key challenge. The findings of Salesforce's "State of Marketing" report indicate that overcoming these data management obstacles will be crucial for marketers aiming to maximise the potential of AI and achieve higher levels of personalisation and customer engagement.