CG Tech Experts Weigh in on Sales and Marketing Investment Trends

L to R: Lori Pugh, CGT; Doug Adams, Microsoft; Nirmal Kumar Dubey, Publicis Sapient; Asif Khan, Sigmoid

Sales and marketing teams are undergoing significant transformations to adapt to evolving consumer preferences. Dynamic organizations are re-evaluating their technology investments to transition from reacting to change to predicting it. 

According to CGT’s recent Sales and Marketing Benchmark Research Report, experts believe that TPM, TPO, e-commerce, retail media, and social media marketing will significantly shape the industry. Strategies positioned for the greatest impact include influencer marketing, social shopping, and hyper-personalization — with many of these using generative AI. 

Understanding how to leverage consumer data effectively, and how to accurately measure success, will be crucial for maximizing these strategies.

Building a Culture of Measurement

The rise of AI and advanced analytics has made ROI measurement more complex, but businesses are actively seeking better ways to structure their data. Asif Khan, director of data science at Sigmoid, during CGT’s recent Consumer Goods Sales & Market Summit, recently noted that many organizations are turning to generative AI to navigate these challenges. 

Khan said current challenges stem from constantly shifting consumer behavior, which exerts pressure on margins and ROI. Companies should realign their marketing investments to reflect priorities while demonstrating value to management. 

“I’m a huge believer that if you don’t measure things, if you don’t monitor them, if you don’t honor them, you cannot enact change. And how many of us are actually measuring and monitoring in order to enact that change, and how do we remove our blind spots through the use of technology?” Panelist Doug Adams, general manager of business applications at Microsoft, posed.