MAIDENHEAD, England,
Jan. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/
-- SDL (LSE: SDL), a global leader in content creation,
translation and delivery, today outlines six recommendations for
companies looking to unlock the strategic power of an intelligent
content supply chain in 2019, giving them the ability to engage
with anyone, anywhere, in their own language and device of
choice.
A November 2018 Forrester
Consulting study, 'Today's Content Supply Chains Prevent Continuous
Customer Journeys,' commissioned by SDL, revealed that companies
need to develop a Global Content Operating Model (GCOM), a
framework that aligns people, technology and processes across a
company, helping them mature the way they create, translate and
deliver content to their customers. This helps brands handle the
growing volume and velocity of content required to engage with
worldwide audiences.
The study also found that brands rely too heavily on disjointed
technologies including a collection Web Content Management Systems,
network drives, and document management systems, supported by
poorly orchestrated human translation, to build customer
experiences on a global scale. Internal organizational silos also
add to the complexity involved in providing continuity across the
presale, sale and post-sale phases of the customer journey.
"To reach the desired end state of intelligent content,
companies need to build for the future today," according to the
Forrester study. "They need to rethink their current processes,
technology, and organizational structures to be prepared for a
future where the strategic value of content continues to grow and
determines the difference between company success and failure."
"The result of organizational and technological disconnects is
poor, fragmented experiences and frustrated customers. At a time
when customers are turning online dozens of times a day, that's an
enormous missed opportunity," said Peggy
Chen, Chief Marketing Officer, SDL. "By commissioning this
study from Forrester Consulting we have uncovered the key problems
and developed a set of six recommendations that outline a path for
brands to consider in 2019 when evolving their content supply
chain."
1. Take Control of Your Content Supply
Chain
The volume and velocity at which brands create
content is out of control, and it's only going to become more
complex. 93% of brands say they will produce more content in the
next two years. Half estimate the volume of content will increase
by more than 30% (and a third estimate by more than 40%), according
to the Forrester Consulting study. The answer to fixing this is to
regain content control across the organization. The GCOM can help
brands achieve this, moving from a manual operating model towards
automated and even autonomous for global content creation,
translation and delivery.
2. Explore Intelligent Content Platforms
Only about one third of brands believe they provide customers with
a continuous customer experience, according to the study. Brands
looking to deliver meaningful and consistent customer experiences,
across multiple channels and languages, will need vast amounts of
content – more than it's possible for marketing teams to create.
Companies will require an intelligent, flexible and AI-driven
architecture. Applying intelligence to a content ecosystem will
help companies automate tasks, and reduce the cost involved in
managing extreme amounts of content.
3. Rethink How Content is Constructed
The popularity of video, chatbots, virtual assistants, and other
emerging channels, are on the rise. Brands expect these to
significantly grow over the next two years, yet only 29% say that
they are very satisfied with the ability of their tools to engage
with customers across these channels, and deliver a continuous
experience, according to the study. Rethink how content is
constructed and shared across teams so that it can be adapted for
these new delivery models with minimal rework and maximum impact.
This will help brands deliver content faster across different
channels, languages and audiences.
4. Be Ready to Adapt Content for Any
Channel
Customers want content, across multiple channels,
at any time of day. Therefore, how do brands create enough content
to meet demand? Little more than half of firms have a centralized
and standardized toolset for the creation (51%), translation (54%),
and delivery (56%) of content across regions and languages.
Bringing systems together to increase the delivery of easily
consumed content, ensures its consistency across all stages of the
buying cycle.
5. Realize That Customers Want Product
Information
Buyers and users want the details about
products and services not just after the deal is done, but during
the buying cycle to understand their investments and make more
informed decisions. Brands understand this trend. Three-quarters
(77%) admit that keeping product information relevant and
up-to-date is critical to a good customer experience. They also
agree that improving access to product information would have the
single greatest positive impact on customer experience — more so
than any other type of content. Brands need to be ready to deliver
everything from production manuals, videos and spec sheets to
customers, in their own language and to the highest standards.
6. Leadership Should Drive Change
According to the study, 82% of firms agree content is critical to
their company's success in achieving top business objectives.
Despite this, three quarters (80%) believe that current content
supply chain challenges impede their ability to deliver on top
business objectives. Vice President and C-level executives should
be the driving force behind digital change. They have the advantage
of seeing cross-departmental, global activities and may be in a
better position to spot broken or redundant processes.
Improved content supply chains lead to robust departmental and
business-wide benefits. Companies gain improved productivity,
higher customer engagement, increased conversion rates, and
increased customer satisfaction, among other benefits.
About SDL
SDL (LSE: SDL) is the global leader in content creation,
translation and delivery. For over 25 years we've helped companies
communicate with confidence and deliver transformative business
results by enabling powerful experiences that engage customers
across multiple touchpoints worldwide. Are you in the know? Find
out why 90 of the top 100 global companies work with and trust us
on SDL.com. Follow us
on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
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SOURCE SDL plc