BizBahrain Magazine Sep-Oct 2019_compressed

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Interview | Aamir Shehzad What exactly is meant by digitization and why are businesses experiencing digital transformation? Digital transformation is the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business, resulting in fundamental changes in how a business operates and the value they deliver to their customers. Put simply, it’s about changing the way a business interacts with its customers and how they provide their customers with a consistent experience whenever and wherever they need it. Digital transformation is forcing companies to change their business models and adapt to the new market reality. What’s interesting about this is that it’s not the companies that are driving this change. Instead, this change is being driven by the customer. Today, customers expect relevant content in relation to what they’re doing anytime, anywhere and in the format and on the device of their choosing. It’s their journey that dictates your strategy. In order to keep up with this new kind of “always-connected” customer, your business must embrace technology to deliver an unmatched customer experience. Fortunately, putting the customer first is already at the center of many organizations strategy. Tell us a little more about how the two aspects of creativity and technology work in a symbiotic relationship to serve the client. A creative approach to problem solving is what helps us reach a solution - it provides us with a fresh perspective. Recent technological advances are helping us to innovate not only against the brief we’ve been set by clients, but also against the client themselves - changing the way their brand works entirely. It was the appreciation of the significant importance of creativity and design that lead us to establish Tessellate, a branding and design agency which has become a creative arm for Spark Digitus. Our passion for creativity and deep knowledge of the digital has given us an edge to create the brands of the future. The institutions that excel today are those that integrate imagination and problem solving, exploration and deep expertise. Steve Jobs said it perfectly, “The best way to create value in the 21st century is to connect creativity with technology.” If digitization is a fundamental requirement for marketing and PR, what are the main roadblocks to understanding it for your customers or prospects? The objective of using data to drive marketing is to learn more about your audiences and acquire new leads using historical and real-time data and integrate this data across multiple platforms to have consistency with your marketing. The issue that is making it complicated for digital marketing is that brands are not spending enough time using data to identify audiences. We need to look at more than just past performance metrics to determine strategies but also look at predictive data and develop personas to personalize towards. By identifying your organization’s overall goals and objectives, you then work backward. What are the main KPIs and what data would be helpful in getting there? Ensure that the goals are not just for marketing but aligned with the overall goals of the organization from stakeholders to sales. This means breaking down your silos from marketing, financial, customer service, and other initiatives to see the bigger picture. There needs to be a single view of how an organization would describe their customer and their measurement for ROI to make data-driven strategies a success. We grow according to our vision. We want to get bigger and better with the focus on “Quality” which is in our DNA. In the wise words of Aristotle, we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. In your opinion, what are the digital marketing strategies that bring the best ROI to business? In the long term, brand awareness and persuasion through dozens of touchpoints is an increasingly important factor to consider in your overall digital marketing ROI. However, brand awareness and perception shifts in the long term can be a bit tricky to measure. This fact increases the importance of determining your financial ROI figures and building a system to track them. The strategies which are focused on a single side of digital marketing ROI will only give you results in a short term. It’s important to consider both the short-term and long-term benefits, the immediate financial return, and the long-term effects of positive awareness generation and LTV. Every company and marketing decision you make should be determined by data. The marketing world should no longer accept spray and pray approach. You have the ability to determine exactly what’s working and what needs improvement. You need to be testing constantly. There is an extraordinary plethora of tactics, platforms, tools, and dashboards at your disposal. Utilize them to your advantage. To achieve success, companies must step back in their journeys toward digital proficiency. Digital, of course, doesn’t operate within a vacuum, and therefore should become an integral element of marketers’ overall marketing strategies and budgets. Companies must approach their digital marketing strategies in the same manner as all others in order to create the seamless omni-channel experience customers have come to expect. That entails starting with structured thinking about a digital strategy’s objectives, necessary infrastructure, and measurements. Afterall, digital is the most effective way to measure your marketing performance too. In what ways can digital communication improve relationships with customers? When you think about it, the relationship between digital communication and customer experience is co-related. Your customers want to be able to interact with your business on the device and channel of their choice. In the digital realm, you might think that means your website or your app, but do consumers really feel that you're building a relationship with them by simply visiting your site or launching an app? Probably not. It's important to remember you can’t build a relationship in silence. 14 September-October 2019
Interview | Aamir Shehzad Ideally, organizations should try to reach their customers across multiple touch points and frequently enough to prevent opening a door to the competition. In order for this to happen, the business must speak with a single voice. That’s not always easy to get right, especially in large corporations where different departments may have very different views on customer communication. However, perhaps more importantly, those departments need to have a consolidated view of their customers. This goes a long way to ensuring that customers only receive messaging that’s contextual and relevant. In your opinion what is the most lasting trend that is likely to continue to shape public experience and perception? In delivering personalized content experiences, marketers have successfully implemented AI capabilities, including Machine Learning, into previously manual operations such as search engines. Google Now and Apple’s voice assistant Siri are only two famous examples of this advanced technology. As the technology gradually becomes more mainstream, Artificial Intelligence is also making inroads into fields such as finance and retail. The banking sector for one, has openly embraced AI, making it part of its customer-facing processes, and using it to design unique machinebased intelligent assistants to address customers' frequently asked questions and banking needs. AI has also impacted retail since customers are now looking for more personalized online and offline shopping experiences. With AI solutions, we know exactly what consumers are thinking, saying, and feeling about the brand in real time. Similarly, with the onslaught of social media available (and the AI to analyze it), we can understand what customers are feeling. It gives us the ability to harness this data in real-time and then quickly modify messaging or branding for maximum effectiveness. With AI solutions, we know exactly what consumers are thinking, saying, and feeling about the brand in real time. Do you think Bahrain has the ability to drive digitization in the region? The Government of Bahrain has taken up the challenge and has approached it with energy and initiative, and consequently we have seen an entire startup eco system emerge. I believe Bahrain is on the right track and supported by the several governmental bodies and institutions which will surely result in more innovation discovery. We can see the direct impact of this in the rise of FDI into the country, and now other countries in the region are picking up on the trend. We are the first to adopt 5G in the region, to have Amazon World Service (AWS) headquartered here, as well as conduct the hugely prestigious AWS Summit. I am proud that Bahrain has taken the lead and shown its ability to drive digitization. One of my firsthand experiences was working with TRA Bahrain. What they have done in Bahrain putting in place policies, such as consumer rights, give you security and freedom - privileges which not many countries in this region enjoy. What’s next for you and for Spark Digitus and Tessellate? I always think about where I was, where I am today and where I want to go. This year has been great for us with the start of the new company, Tessellate. Besides that, we are doing a lot of large branding projects in Saudi Arabia. It is probably the biggest market and they have a vision and a direction and they are really pushing for digitization. But, in all honesty, the entire region - Bahrain - KSA - Oman - is thirsty for growth and transformation. Constantly evolving and forever expanding, home to optimism, energy and power, blazing a profound transformation trail, positioned, as we speak, at this digital frontier that excites my pioneering heart. I believe it is the right time to be in this particular expanded market, especially with this creative duo we have established: Spark Digitus -Tessellate. The creative process - the tessellation, how I often call it, is taking place in a higher dimension but it needs the mathematical precision of technology as a guarantee for building future proof brands. Our clients were fantastic in picking this up. We already have a small team in KSA, but we are planning to open a full-fledged office and have a bigger team there. And replicate the process in Oman as well. We are planning to open the world step by step. This is only the beginning. Four W3 Awards for Batelco Digital Annual Report Two W3 Awards for Ithmaar Bank Website Communication Award for TRA Digital Annual Report Innovation and excellence recognised with a number of Accolades and Awards through the years. Two Summit International Award For EDB Digital Annual Report September-October 2019 15
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS September - October 2019 0
Page 5 and 6: UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF HIS ROYAL HI
Page 7 and 8: gulfair.com Maldives Non-stop fligh
Page 9 and 10: Tour Packages ● International Air
Page 11 and 12: Main Feature | Economy Review ranke
Page 13 and 14: September-October 2019 11
Page 15: I have established at Spark Digitus
Page 19 and 20: President of the Bahrain Businesswo
Page 21 and 22: Spotlight | BIDEC 2019 H.H. Brigadi
Page 23 and 24: Property Finder | Real Estate Analy
Page 25 and 26: THE AVENUES BAHRAIN 06 07 08 09 NOV
Page 27 and 28: Business Report | OBG sewage projec
Page 29 and 30: Expert Opinion | Information Techno
Page 33 and 34: Government Forsati for Government F
Page 35 and 36: Government World Tolerance Summit c
Page 37 and 38: Banking & Finance Mobile Account op
Page 39 and 40: Under the Patronage of HRH Prince K
Page 41 and 42: Telecom Batelco mobile package ‘M
Page 43 and 44: CIBAFI - Ivey Business School Execu
Page 45 and 46: Real Estate Mazaya mortgages with l
Page 49 and 50: Technology BCFC launched Sustainabl
Page 51 and 52: Under the Patronage of His Excellen
Page 53 and 54: Automotive Hyundai Palisade 2020 Fi
Page 55 and 56: TRANSFORMING PROCESS ENGINEERING TH
Page 57 and 58: Other Business KAIE adds FERM Power
Page 61 and 62: Broadband Subscribers 2.33 Million
Page 64: UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF HIS MAJESTY

BizBahrain Magazine Sep-Oct 2019_compressed

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