Forrester has released an introductory guide that identifies the top 15 business, customer experience and technology changes to expect in the new year. Customers are the fundamental driver of these changes, which will lead to a customer-led market shift across the board. CEOs must consider structural and leadership changes to compete in a market where companies win or lose based on singular customer experience, and new technologies are emerging to change the market landscape.
"The consequences of a customer-led, digital-centric market are becoming clearer, and will spur many organizations into action in 2017," said Dane Anderson, VP, Research Director and Region Manager for Asia Pacific, Forrester. "Empowered customers are forcing the hand of virtually every industry, and business leaders must respond to these changes head-on. Especially in Asia Pacific where many markets no longer have the easy growth of years past, inaction presents immediate revenue risk – or much worse – a threat to a company’s existence."
The top 15 dynamics that will shape 2017 are:
- The extent to which businesses will need to restructure to adapt to a customer-led market.
- How – and how many – CMOs can successfully evolve to meet new and expansive leadership demands.
- The likelihood that CIOs will rise to the challenge of leading digital business strategies.
- How CEOs will handle business unit and product leadership in a market dominated by empowered customers and disruptors.
- How transitional roles like chief data officer, chief digital office, and chief customer officer will fare.
- How businesses will react to acute cyber risk to maintain customer trust.
- Determining the scarce but critical talent required to lead in the age of the customer – and how that will place significant pressure on both talent management and talent acquisition.
- Identifying new levels of revenue risk directly attributed to underperforming or even mediocre customer experiences.
- The extent to which companies are able to measure and operationalize emotion, which continues to be a primary driver of customer affinity and spend.
- How companies are designing signature moments to capture customers’ hearts, minds, and spend.
- The beginnings of a new technology revolution that will reshape how businesses operate and interact with customers.
- The role augmented reality and virtual reality will play in 2017 and where both are in their evolution.
- The implementation and impact of the internet of things in 2017.
- The impact and evolution of artificial intelligence to deliver contextually-rich, personalized experiences.
- The next steps in cloud computing to change the architecture and economics of technology.