Digital, hyper-personalization drove CXM Engineering in Dentsu in 2024

As we conclude another year, it is essential to reflect on the key developments, challenges, and achievements that have shaped different sectors throughout the past 12 months. The year 2024 has been marked by dynamic shifts, rapid innovation, and the continued adaptation to both external factors and emerging trends.

Adgully’s annual feature – REWIND – revisits different sectors and identifies the key developments as well gauges the long-term impacts of those developments. We speak to a cross-section of industry leaders to bring a 360-degree view of the industry landscape, the growth trends, financial performance, disruptions, innovations, challenges and more.

In this REWIND 2024 article, Sradhanand Achugatla, Head of Engineering, CXM, Dentsu India, speaks about the state of Customer Experience Management in 2024, how organizations across sectors invested in CXM tools and platforms to enhance customer engagement, and more.

CXM Engineering landscape in 2024

In 2024, Customer Experience Management (CXM) Engineering in Dentsu is witnessing significant growth, driven by a confluence of digital transformation, evolving consumer expectations, and the push toward hyper-personalization.

Here are some key insights into the industry’s state and its influence on the Indian economy:

Industry Overview

Digital Transformation Acceleration:

• Organizations across sectors are investing in CXM tools and platforms to enhance customer engagement.
• AI-driven chatbots, voice assistants, and predictive analytics have become mainstream, aiding customer interactions and decision-making.

Growth of Martech and SaaS Solutions:

• Platforms like Adobe Experience Cloud, Salesforce are increasingly adopted for end-to-end CXM.
• Indian startups in the Martech domain are innovating rapidly, contributing to the global SaaS ecosystem.

Cloud-First Strategies:

• Migration to cloud-based CXM solutions allows scalability, cost-effectiveness, and improved agility.
• Kubernetes-based deployments for digital experience platforms are becoming the norm.

Focus on Data Privacy and Compliance:

• Customers are aligning with data protection laws like the Digital Personal Data Protection Act to ensure secure and ethical CX practices.

Enhanced Consumer Spending:

• Improved CX leads to increased consumer spending, driving growth in retail, pharma, and digital services.

The Way Forward

• Upskilling Initiatives: Partnerships between academia, industry, and government to build a workforce skilled in CXM technologies.
• Focus on Localization: Customizing CX strategies to cater to diverse Indian consumer segments is key to driving adoption.
• Sustainability in CXM: Incorporating green technologies and ethical practices to appeal to eco-conscious consumers.

The road ahead for CXM Engineering

As a professional in CXM Engineering, the focus lies in enabling businesses to transform their customer interactions into meaningful, scalable, and data-driven experiences. This sector thrives at the intersection of technology innovation, user-centered design, and strategic implementation.

Core Areas of CXM Engineering

Digital Experience Platforms (DXPs):

• Implementing and managing platforms like Adobe Experience Cloud, Salesforce, and Oracle CX to deliver seamless digital experiences.

Customer Data Platforms (CDPs):

• Engineering systems that consolidate customer data from multiple sources for unified profiling, segmentation, and personalization.

Omnichannel Solutions:

Developing tools to integrate customer interactions across web, mobile, email, social media, and offline channels.

AI and Machine Learning:

• Embedding predictive analytics, chatbots, recommendation engines, and sentiment analysis tools for proactive customer engagement.

Personalization Engines:

• Delivering tailored content, products, or services in real time based on user behaviour, preferences, and context.

Analytics and Insights:

• Building dashboards and tools for monitoring customer behavior, journey mapping, and campaign performance metrics.

Automation and Workflows:

• Streamlining processes like customer onboarding, support ticket management, and email campaigns through workflow automation.

Industries Driving Demand

The CXM Engineering sector operates across various industries, such as:

Retail and E-Commerce:

• Developing personalized shopping experiences, loyalty programs, and AI-powered product recommendations.

Banking and Financial Services:

• Crafting secure and intuitive user journeys for account management, loan applications, and customer support.

Healthcare:

• Improving patient engagement through telemedicine platforms, appointment scheduling, and follow-up reminders.

Travel and Hospitality:

• Designing systems for personalized travel itineraries, dynamic pricing, and real-time customer support.

Media and Entertainment:

• Engineering platforms for content recommendation, subscription management, and multi-device streaming.

Emerging Trends in CXM Engineering

Headless Architecture:

• Decoupling front-end and back-end systems for flexibility and faster deployment of digital experiences.

Kubernetes and Cloud-Native Solutions:

• Deploying CX applications in scalable, containerized environments for optimal performance and cost efficiency.

Edge Computing:

• Processing data closer to the user for real-time personalization and reduced latency.

Ethical AI:

• Implementing transparent and unbiased AI systems for enhanced trust and customer satisfaction.