The breakneck speed at which the digital revolution is evolving has already led to an improvement in the adoption rate of commercial internet over the last decade. As a result, customers now feel more empowered to engage at their convenience, choose the organization they want to interact with and carry out transactions across multiple channels.
Given this, they can swiftly browse products and service options on the hop, interact with a live agent, get their issues resolved through self-service (chatbots), sync with associates to review options (social), bargain and make purchases (e-commerce/ m-commerce), and then have items delivered too, directly at their doorstep.
Customer experience (CX) lies at the heart of the digital transformation. And so, customers will only prefer to do business with organizations that keep them on their toes and are always one step ahead with deals and resources for handling their upcoming problems or issues.
Organizations those who’ll understand that customers will be expecting more than real-time will not only prosper but also gain market share.
This blog will showcase how the media industry trends are evolving and the key points that MEPs should focus on to offer frictionless and intuitive customer experiences.
Safety has become the topmost concern for those media and publishing companies (MEPs) who are aware and cautious about the privacy of users’ data. They have become more conscious of whom they are sharing online space with so as to enhance quality check standards and avoid safety blunders, which otherwise brands would have to compensate for, alongside bearing damage to reputation - or worse.
Besides, content piracy and illegal file-sharing are no less menacing challenges that are tormenting the industry. Given this, creators have even used all the possible ways, like writing multiple endings, in popular series (Game of Thrones) to maintain a surprise element.
Therefore, enterprises must take data privacy seriously and follow these below-mentioned points while collecting data from users-
The recently implemented General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) gives European citizens the right to have more control over how their data is being handled and used. If you have your business in Europe too, you are legally bound to be upfront on how you are using data and to obtain consumer consent. Failure in doing so will result in hefty fines.
Today, consumers are readily willing to share their personal information, provided they are getting something valuable, such as rewards or personalized user experience. But many users feel that publishers, especially ones that don’t offer subscription models use their data to boost advertising rates to subsidize the content. That said, if users feel uncomfortable with how their data will be used, there should be an opt-out option available with the simple click of a button.
For publishers, competing with the likes of Google and Facebook is difficult to save money and at the same time drive the bottom line. But data privacy is not the right factor to bet on while cutting costs. MEPs must maintain audience trust, and take every available means to protect it.
They can work with IT firms to get their cybersecurity approach checked and take the necessary measures to improve it. It will ensure that you are firewall-protected, using appropriate data backup methods, and your in-house data sharing policies don’t put consumer data at risk.
With more consumers preferring quality content and experience over ownership, MEP companies should start revamping their offers, pricing, and overall business models to sync up with the new world of opportunities in this digital age.
Furthermore, a wide range of media companies that are popping up seemingly on a daily basis comprises virtual multichannel video programming distributors to provide limited but less expensive subscriptions of selected channels or groups of channels.
These newly opened companies claim 20% of the U.S. subscriber market.
In contrast, large media companies, like Disney are connecting through customers’ directly, offering their own digital streaming services.
With the accelerated transformation of the entire digital landscape, the media, entertainment, and publishing industry are racing towards the moment of truth. Consumers are moving in masses and spending much more time there, ditching out completely on traditional consumption habits.
As per Google, more than 90 percent of media interactions are now screen-based - for instance, books have been replaced with eBooks and audiobooks, print newspapers & magazines with subscriptions like Netflix, Hulu, and others are advancing on network television.
Cord-cutting households are threatening the existence of cable TV. Cloud gaming services are contesting with mainstream streaming video services to pressurize OTT pricing.
Moreover, in an attempt to address an ever-expanding range of channels, these quickly changing standards make it more complicated to understand and keep up with what actually customers want and expect from such experiences.
The digitization has transformed the way media content allowed companies to earn revenue.
The industry’s grappling situation can be perhaps observed by looking at the steadily decreasing revenues of U.S - based newspaper publishers between 2010 and 2017.
Despite the fact that the total number of magazine readers has actually increased in the last five years, publishers are finding it difficult to gain profits. Even organizations like the New York Times, an established name in the print media industry, also faced similar financial troubles in recent years, with the company’s revenue reduced more than half since 2006.
Given this, many MEPs have started to adapt to digital disruption and ensure that they offer online relevant content to users that appeal to them and can drive up subscription rates.
Many companies have started using various tools and technologies to get hold of the preferences of their audience in unified customer profiles so that they can generate more relevant content.
Readers are urged to provide detailed information about their preferences so that enterprises can put in front of them the stories they want to see. This way, MEPs can produce content that better engages readers and drives loyalty.
MEPs should prioritize on the following points for growth-
Delivering what users, listeners, viewers, and readers want and expect starts from laying a digital marketing foundation, which is powerful, standardized, and yet scalable.
Centralizing and automating content and delivery across devices and platforms will reduce costs and boost speed while delivering the omnichannel experience users crave for.
The wide array of channels and a colossal amount of content makes it difficult for users to discover and experience customized results. MEPs must discover new and innovative ways to bundle content at a personalized level, and not by mass-segment groupings.
Creating a platform that lets content prosper will give sales and marketing teams strength to attract and acquire new audiences while nurturing existing valuable relationships.
By ensuring that the stabilization of uneven demand and performance through a secure foundation, providers can ensure they’re offering the consistent experience consumers really want. Full-time support, open standards, API support, flexible workflows, and the facility to push content across platforms without dependence on IT can serve as a foundation for that experience.
Consumer behaviour that keeps changing almost every other day and increasing demands for engagement makes it difficult to extract accurate and timely behavior insights. Consolidating online and offline data sources in a unified language can drive cross-company KPIs.
MEPs are already in a quest to figure out the investments they need to put into digital marketing platforms, personalization, tools, and improved ways to engage with customers.
Moving ahead, customers want an increasingly intuitive, fully personalized experience.
Therefore, MEPs should focus on managing their brand’s digital assets, and the effective use of analytics and insights to ease the journey of prospective and converted customers.