SS: Many have invested in data lakes to consolidate data for analysis, but they struggle to activate these insights effectively.
How do you take these insights and push them to the activation layer, which is the channel? That is one of the biggest challenges that I see. The challenge lies in bridging the gap between data analysis and activation. While companies have invested heavily in data collection and analysis tools, they often fail to leverage these insights to drive personalized customer experiences across various channels.
This is a significant hurdle, especially for large enterprises like banks, telcos, and travel agencies that handle vast amounts of data but struggle to integrate it effectively into their strategies.
This gap prevents them from delivering truly personalized customer experiences despite having vast amounts of data.
DigiconAsia: What makes personalization at scale so difficult, and what is a good solution?
SS: True one-to-one personalization requires a deep understanding of customer preferences, but most organizations tend to remain stuck in broad segmentation models — such as one-to-1,000 or one-to-100 — rather than delivering individualized experiences. This limitation is a significant barrier to achieving true personalization at scale.
True one-to-one email personalization is about taking all the insights from all the information the enterprise has about the customer and packaging it together with the experience being delivered.
A good approach is to use software tools powered by generative AI that empower creators to produce personalized content at scale without compromising quality or creativity.
DigiconAsia: Can you share examples of how organizations in Asia are leveraging digital transformation to enhance customer engagement?
SS: Certainly. In Singapore, the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board has undertaken significant efforts to modernize its digital services. By migrating legacy systems to a unified platform and adopting modular architectures, CPF has improved agility and responsiveness, enabling it to deliver personalized experiences across mobile and web platforms.
This transformation has helped CPF better meet the diverse needs of its 3.9m members while ensuring scalability and efficiency in service delivery.
Similarly, Standard Chartered Bank has embraced generative AI tools to optimize content creation processes, significantly reducing campaign execution timelines. Initial prototypes now take 16 days instead of the previous 24 days.
These initiatives reflect how organizations in Asia are utilizing advanced technologies and innovative approaches to drive operational efficiency and deliver tailored experiences to their customers.
DigiconAsia thanks Shashank Sharma for sharing his professional insights with readers
