This past year saw many industries, including the financial industry, grapple with initiatives such as digital transformation and customer experience (CX). For those whose efforts weren’t successful, 2019 will be the year to get pragmatic, says research firm Forrester.
Last year more than 50% of digital transformation efforts stalled, and CX performance was flat because firms found these strategies difficult and costly, says the firm in its 2019 predictions report.
In contrast, in the coming year leaders will turn their attention to pragmatic, surgical efforts. By pragmatically addressing hurdles—an aging brand, for example—leaders will create “a more durable and potent foundation,” says the report.
Here are report highlights:
- CX will come under fire. Few firms make real gains in CX because of a strategic and structural mismatch between what CX must do and what it is allowed or capable of doing, says the report. As a result, some firms will resort to old-school methods, such as price discounting, for short-term gains.
- Digital goes surgical. Digital transformation, which proved too disruptive for many firms, will move from “super-wide enterprise efforts” to incremental and necessary changes to operations, says the report. “Tangible efforts, such as shifting customers to lower-cost digital channels, launching digital products, monetizing data assets and automating processes to improve margins, will come to the fore,” it says.
- Purpose regains meaning. Business transformation will translate to pragmatic actions based on purpose. “Leaders will make hard choices as to what is truly strategic and what is the basis for bolder strategies in 2020—while preparing for a possible economic downturn,” says the report.
- Artificial intelligence builds a foundation. Most firms struggle with data governance issues, so they can’t effectively use AI. Some firms apply AI only minimally to specific operations. In 2019, Forrester expects more firms to put building blocks in place to accelerate their ability to meet AI’s potential.
- Venture-capital funding recalibrates as investors look to what’s next. Among other industries, financial services will be a top pick for venture capital as fintech and insurtech crop up and expand due to international growth opportunities and regulatory variability around the world.
For full details and predictions, download Forrester’s 2019 predictions report.