Indian brands are prioritising customer experiences to drive growth, according to new research from Adobe. Most organisations are cutting their marketing and customer experience budgets – 42 percent have already done so, and 37 percent will in the next 12 months. In response, brands are seeking to drive efficiencies by deploying technology solutions that improve workflows (70 percent) and generative AI (59 percent). However, the research suggests that formal business rollouts of generative AI lags well behind consumer demand and employee usage.
In the workplace, 94 percent of Indian employees said they had already used generative AI in marketing and customer experience campaigns, with 52 percent employing large language models and 50 percent utilising text-to-image generators to create promotional brand materials and content. However, only 47 percent of respondents say that the company they work for currently uses generative AI tools.
“Generative AI represents a transformative shift in how brands connect with consumers. It goes beyond mere automation and is the key to unleashing creativity, achieving hyper-personalisation, and productivity in marketing – a win-win for brands and their customers,” said Anindita Veluri, marketing director, Adobe India.
APAC brands fail to prioritise factors that drive trust and spending: data security, sustainability, and accessibility
Adobe’s research found that in a challenging economic environment, brand trust is a key determining factor for consumer spending. Almost half (44 percent) of Indian consumers said they are more likely to stay loyal to brands they trust, and 45 percent are more likely to spend more with them.
The number one factor in building consumer trust is keeping data safe and using it in line with customers’ expectations. This is closely followed by the provision of sustainable products or services and accessible customer experiences. These factors are also likely to increase the amount a customer spends with a brand.
Conversely, 90 percent of Indian consumers say they will decrease spending with brands that don’t keep their data safe, including 49 percent that will refuse to spend at all. An inaccessible experience that doesn’t support the needs of people with disabilities will also prompt 91 percent to spend less, while 90 percent will cut spending if a brand doesn’t comply with sustainability regulations and requirements.
Likewise, 58 percent of Indian brands see data safety as important to attracting and retaining customers. For accessible and sustainable products and services, that number falls to 52 percent and 41 percent, respectively.
“As employees start to bring their own generative AI tools to work, organisations need to be on the front foot with AI usage policies and monitoring,” said Duncan Egan, vice president digital experience marketing Asia Pacific and Japan, Adobe. Without this, brands run the risk of having multiple shadow AI solutions that fail to meet the organisation’s security, privacy, data handling, and compliance standards. Strong guardrails are also required to ensure ethics and legal governance are baked into the usage of these tools, particularly given consumer concerns and the premium placed on brand trust.”