Convergence of SMAC has transformed business outlook

Any company that plans to expand in any region today needs to explore beyond the conventional realm for desired results and business growth. All of us are aware of the power of Internet, and online marketing, which are now integral to any marketing plan. However, the focus now is on optimising different platforms powered by Internet and not restricting to just the basics, such as email marketing.

One such platform is SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) as its impact on brands and their businesses is tremendous. SMAC has grown a lot  in terms of clout, popularity, influence and result-orientedness that organisations cannot afford to ignore it to amplify their marketing efforts!

SMAC is the ‘in-thing’ today and every organisation and business is adopting it for better systematic outcomes. SMAC is a combination of four digital technologies — social, mobile, analytics and cloud to provide a holistic solution towards transforming an organisation into a highly — functional productive entity with the capability of managing future business challenges. It leverages collaboration, mobility, accessibility and communication to provide sales and marketing professionals a better understanding of the market perspective and profile of consumers.

As separate pillars, each of these four technologies is capable of driving business growth, but their convergence has transformed the outlook for businesses to enhance their reach, brand value, profitability, customer base, and market share by a huge margin.

The logic behind the SMAC approach is to leverage social networks for brand building and customer engagement from a close range; big data analytics to analyse large volumes of data and derive actionable insights into customer behavioural data; cloud computing to provide a shared pool of resources for and mobile applications to provide access to services-on-the-go apart from gaining insights into consumer  behaviours and product preferences.

There is no doubt that social media has evolved into a useful tool that businesses utilise to build brand awareness, foster relationships, address customer requirements and grievances, secure business lead generation and much more. But it is also a fact that social sharing enhances brand popularity in the social networks through rapid sharing of business products and services.

 It also enhances the collaborative knowledge for businesses where their brands interact with potential customers, giving them an opportunity to share feedback and insights on how to improve their products and services. Valuable data coming from customers can be harnessed to help build better and different marketing strategies depending on the scenario.

Likewise, mobile phones have become an important source for sales and marketing teams to sharpen their reach and focus. Mobile phones have become so ubiquitous that in today’s business scenario going mobile cannot be an afterthought.

Mobile technology reinforces businesses an ability to connect with potential customers and make an impression directly. It is proven beyond doubt that mobility strategy becomes integral to the marketing strategy of every organisation 24x7 and not just as a one-time engagement activity. One of the best ways of improving revenue generation is embracing mobile marketing at every level and inculcating the culture of becoming mobile-friendly in every organisation.

Though IT companies are among the early adopters of business analytics to improve their business, it has now become pervasive and necessary for all sectors, especially those in the consumer business. Analytics give organisations a clear pattern of consumer preferences and choices, their consumption pattern, the products they prefer and how they use the products, etc. Merging business analytics with marketing is critical for the success of any marketing or sales strategy. There are several case studies to demonstrate that organisations have immensely benefited by adopting Analytics in their marketing plans for optimised results.

Cloud computing helps organisations in accessing technology and data that are crucial while responding to changing market dynamics and at the same time overcome business-related challenges. Organisations can create a cost-effective IT infrastructure with an ability for businesses to reduce costs on maintaining a physical server using Cloud computing technology. As it helps organisations in facilitating collaborations, improving business efficiency, and reaching out to people who matter, Cloud offers multiple benefits to the sales and marketing teams.

SMAC is increasingly making its presence felt across various industry verticals by boosting their operational efficiency, enabling better customer retention, brand outreach, and satisfaction, eventually resulting in improved business and revenue growth.

 It is proven that each of them impacts a business separately, but their convergence can be a disruptive force leading to creation of result-oriented business models that help gain traction in customer acquisition and impact the bottom-line in the long-term.

It is evident that SMAC platforms help organisations grow by leaps and bounds when incorporated in the right manner. It is all about securing access to customer insights to ensure a better customer experience. Organisations are taking advantage of the SMAC based frameworks for an edge over competitors by adopting result-oriented marketing plans. It becomes imperative for organisations to adopt SMAC at an early stage to remain ahead of the competition in the category they operate in.

(The author is Founder and CEO of 7EDGE, an integrated marketing and technology solutions company)