Happy Monday morning!
I like building things that work.
And I’m often torn between building a functional understanding of the latest trends in technology (e.g. Hyperautomation) and going all-in in on solving operational problems like helping someone get started with email marketing.
But strategy and operations go hand in hand.
And we’re not going to let the latest tech developments pass us by while we’re busy fussing over the right shade of blue.
So, throughout this year, each week, I’ll break down the latest technology trends into what you need to know, starting with Gartner’s Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2022.
Today’s Curio includes:
🧠 Switching on a dime. [Consumer Insight]
🤖 Composable Applications. [Digital Trend]
👩🔬 Content types that worked best for B2B marketers last year. [Market Research]
💡 Marriot’s recipe for recovery. [Case Example]
🧠 Our attitudes and values don’t switch on a dime, but our likes & dislikes do.
It's challenging to keep up with people.
It's not that we haven't tried.
Every year marketers build elaborate customer journeys and profiles.
And every year, everyone ends up with the same cardboard cutout as everyone else.
Customer profiles aren't redundant, of course.
But they're not enough.
Behind every customer journey is the noble idea of walking a mile in your customer's shoes.
But modern consumers don't walk. They flutter around like butterflies, jumping from trend to trend.
We need a new strategy for keeping pace.
We need to understand how they feel, what they mean, and the conditions for earning their attention.
French Philosopher Merleau Ponty called it 'understanding the world in the manner of others' but you can call it empathy.
We're simultaneously crafting and living our ideal selves.
And the virtually infinite selection of products allows us to invent and reinvent ourselves on the go.
That's why brands today can't be limited to what they sell.
As CJ Thompson wrote in The Why of Consumption, people look for 'acts of re-enchantment, moments of magic, community, spirituality, and authenticity from brands.'
And that's precisely why you cannot rely on cardboard cutouts of your customers.
Use creativity in how you express yourself.
And it doesn't need to involve any rotting food or celebrities suspended between moving trucks.
We're all equally limited by the same cookie-cutter demographics and interest-based profiles.
Don’t let creativity be an afterthought.
Because it’s how you show people that you know how they feel and what they mean. Do that, and they’ll pay attention to you.
🤖 Building your digital enterprise with Composable Applications
According to Gartner’s Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2022:
By 2024, the design mantra for new SaaS and custom applications will be “composable API-first or API-only,” rendering traditional SaaS and custom applications as “legacy.”
And they predict that:
By 2023, organisations that have adopted a Composable Commerce approach will outpace the competition by 80% in the speed of new feature implementation.
So, what is a Composable Application?
Composable Application is a digital development and operational approach of selecting the best components and combining them into a custom application built for specific business functions.
To a novice, like me, it sounds similar to microservices.
But there’s a difference.
A microservice is a collection of independent services communicating through APIs.
And a Packaged Business Capability (PBC) is a bundle of microservices, for example, a shopping cart and checkout, promotional emails, and campaigns designed for your ecommerce team.
A Composable Application is a collection of PBCs designed to perform specific functionalities.
Why are Composable Applications a strategic tech trend in 2022?
Digital Transformation and innovation is often slowed down by;
clunky and outdated systems, and
custom-built tech stacks with multiple vendors and services.
And PBCs and Composable Apps allow fusion teams to organise their projects and business capabilities so they can be developed, deployed, and managed independently.
This also means that you can utilise the best vendor or service for the job without getting stuck into a vendor lock or holding yourself back with a one-size-fits-all solution.
For a slow-moving enterprise, this means having the ability to maintain the digital agility of a start-up.
And this is where fusion teams come in.
What are Fusion Teams?
As Walkme explains:
Fusion teams are groups of people with skills ranging from business to IT. This blend of skills and experience allows companies to adapt and meet consumer demands. Through regular collaboration, these teams can better achieve objectives, adapt to changing priorities, and learn new tools and processes more easily.
By not siloing these teams into their respective departments, decisions can be made and products delivered more quickly as all the necessary individuals are working together.
In other words, it’s a Centre of Excellence.
Now you know what Composable Applications are. Next week, I will explore Composable Enterprise, extending this philosophy into enterprise operations.
A humble request: I learn the best through sharing. It helps me absorb information better. Another benefit is getting course-corrected by someone smarter and more knowledgeable than me. So, please share your insights in case I’ve misunderstood something. And I will share your wisdom forward.
👩🔬 Online courses & webinars outperformed all other content types in B2B marketing last year.
The chart above is from the latest benchmark data [pdf] from the Content Marketing Institute. Still, I recommend starting with this article that adds depth to the findings and includes references to other reports on the same topic.
💡 Marriott improved its marketing efficiency by 300% using Scrum and data from Google Business Places.
In an interview with Google Bart Buiring, Marriott’s APAC chief marketing officer explained:
Our approach to recovery is based on an understanding that going hyperlocal doesn’t have to be a disruptive transformation project. We’ve prioritized local consumers and focused on deepening collaborations between industry, technology, and digital partners to anticipate and meet local needs.
Using local insights from how people searched for bars and restaurants, Marriot refined its targeting and creative strategy. The result was an additional 1,7 million USD in incremental revenue over six months.
Have a great week!
Aliyar