ASEAN Businesses Underplay the Power of Customer-Facing Digital Strategies and Technologies, Accenture Survey Shows

KUALA LUMPUR, February 28, 2013 –  Customer-facing digital strategies are a consideration for the majority of  businesses in ASEAN, but only a third say they are at the heart of corporate strategy, according to a new study by Accenture, which also suggests the region’s businesses are not taking full advantage of the interactive opportunities presented by digital technologies.

The survey of over 400 businesses executives across six Southeast Asian markets shows that 66 percent of respondents say they face challenges in meeting customer service expectations and yet only 34 percent say customer-facing digital strategies are at the heart of their corporate strategy. At the same time, two thirds (63 percent) of responding companies complain that they face challenges in finding talent with the right digital experience.

Opportunity for more engaging digital initiatives
Southeast Asian companies are not taking full advantage of the potential of digital technologies, according to the research, and are largely using these new media for ‘broadcasting’ information, rather than engaging in any form of co-creation or dialogue with their consumers.
• 81 percent use digital channels to provide basic product or service information; and only 58 percent tap into multimedia
• 63 percent provide real-time customer service advice, but only 51 percent solicit ideas and innovations and 56 percent listen to and track customer

Those newer to digital strategy are at the beginning of the curve and so are using Web 1.0 initiatives such as websites and online advertising. See regional variations in Figure 1.

The survey shows that while almost one third (29 percent) of responding companies say they have not changed their digital spend over the past year and are not planning on changing in the next 12 months, a majority (51 percent) say they are seeing small net spend increases on customer-facing digital strategies.  Fifteen percent say they have increased and are increasing their digital spend by over 50 percent.  However, more than half (52 percent) of businesses say they are not measuring the Return on Investment of customer-facing digital activities.

“The Southeast Asia region is no longer a ‘future potential’ digital market but already has among the world’s most active digital consumers,” said Trent Mayberry, Managing Director, Technology, ASEAN, Accenture.  “Yet, our research shows that businesses have yet to make digital strategies central to their thinking and are not using the interactive kinds of technologies that the region’s technology savvy consumers would expect from them. This points to a good business case for more investment, but also for more effective measurement of the return on that investment.”

Digital divide and low digital uptake internally
According to the research, a large majority of Southeast Asian organizations (70 percent) believe there is a divide in digital knowledge between senior managers and digital natives within their company (see Figure 2).  The research suggests that digital has not been leveraged to its full potential to enable greater collaboration and flexibility among employees in the workplace; and Singapore-based companies are more likely to be ahead of the curve and Indonesia and Philippines least likely.  And while online-based communication tools and internal social media platforms appear to be the most commonly used digital tools, only 29 percent of respondents said they use them for internal collaboration to a great extent.  More than half (55 percent) said they use them only to some extent.  The research suggests that, for those that use them, their use is not being formally measured.

“Our experience tells us that the companies with the most advanced consumer facing digital strategies are also those who make use of such technologies internally,” said Marco Ryan, Managing Director, Accenture Interactive, ASEAN.  “The challenge is as much one of culture as it is one of technology. Employees who make full use of digital and social media platforms to collaborate with each other are more likely to engage more effectively with consumers.  For instance, Accenture research finds that companies looking to leverage the high social media engagement are using gamification to create differentiation.”

The Accenture study outlines a number of things for businesses to consider as a part of their efforts to improve their overall approach to digital strategies:
1. Creating a cohesive digital strategy designed to extend to employee engagement and driving innovation.
2. Driving value from data, using analytics techniques in an attempt to gain a granular understanding of customers and employees.
3. Embracing Web 2.0 capabilities, including social media applications.
4. Measuring ROI, setting clear Key Performance Indicators at the outset, including improvements to sales and customer loyalty
5. Fostering a pervasive digital culture that can recognize the varying digital appetites of the workforce.

For more details, download the Accenture Southeast Asia digital survey infographic or visit the research hub to read the reports: Surfing Southeast Asia’s Powerful Digital Wave, Playing Your Digital Cards Right, Dealing with Digital Technology’s Disruptive Impact on the Workforce and Ready for Indonesia’s Digital Future?