VR, AI, and UX: 7 Posts Highlighting Top Trends for 2016

Hope you’re having a great start to your week, Big Thinkers. To make it even more successful, you might want to learn about VR, AI, and UX with these 7 posts highlighting top trends for 2016. Enjoy:

1. Cnet talks with Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai about his AI vision, summing up what Pichai expects AI to do as, “Hi. How can I help?” Google’s taking a huge step towards the next version of the Internet — or at least what one future might look like — where voice and VR replace keyboards and screens. They’re clearly stepping deeper into virtual reality and messaging (a subject I’m still bullish about), which signals how seriously the search giant takes this shift. One reason you ought to believe them? Well, Google says 20% of mobile queries are now voice searches. And that number’s only going to grow.
2. A report from Business Insider’s Matt Weinberger quotes Google’s Diane Greene as saying both Google and Amazon Web Services can win in this new cloud-based version of computing and the Internet, further underscoring exactly how big this all might become.
3. As Greene notes, Amazon’s hardly out of the game. In fact, Joshua Jamerson writes over at the Wall Street Journal that Amazon’s expanding its restaurant delivery to New York and Dallas, getting deeper into the overall customer experience. [Editor’s note: Copy and paste the title of the WSJ piece into Google if you get blocked by — and don’t want to deal with — the Journal’s paywall.]
4. In fact, if we look at what’s holding mobile commerce back, it seems ever more likely that customer experience plays a critical role. Melissa Gonzalez offers some thoughts over at PSFK on how brands can build human connections that’s well worth reading.
5. One way you can absolutely help your customers is with a deeper investment into content marketing since we’re all publishers now. You might also want to make room for mobile video to help tell your brand’s story and answer your customers’ key questions. However, be aware that some data shows there’s little consumer interest in paying for ad-free digital content (see my tip for bypassing the Journal’s paywall as just one example). But, again, I think the issue is more one of quality and experience than willingness to pay. Customers usually don’t mind opening their wallet for things they value. The key is giving them something to value in the first place.
6. Another struggle you’ll want to watch out for is the increasing challenge and cost of finding the right resources for your digital marketing initiatives. Recent research from eMarketer highlights that marketers still struggle balancing marketing technology tools and talent. We’ve got some experience in this area here, so feel free to drop me a line if you’d like some help.
7. Finally, you might find these 11 data-driven marketing insights from last week a great asset to build on these trends and start your week off right.

If you want learn even more about how your customers’ changing behavior shapes e-commerce and marketing, be sure and register to receive a special report I’ve produced in conjunction with hotel marketing firm Vizergy, “Digital Hotel Marketing in a Multiscreen World.” While it’s targeted specifically at hotel and resort marketers, the lessons apply to just about any business. You can get your free copy of the report here.

You can also check out these slides and video from my recent webinar, “Digital Marketing Directions: Three Key Trends Driving Your Marketing Next Year”:

Finally, you might enjoy some of these past posts from Thinks to help you build your e-commerce strategy and your digital success:

• 6 Mobile Commerce and Strategy Insights: E-commerce Link Digest
• Content is Still the King
• The Digital Strategy Myth
• Why Mobile Payments Will Rule
• 2016’s Top Trends: Make Room For Mobile Video
• Driving Seamless Experiences in 2016 (Thinks Out Loud Episode 149)
• Mobile is So Much Bigger Than You Think (Thinks Out Loud Episode 140)
• It’s Not “Mobile First.” It’s “Customer First.”
• 8 Killer Entries About Improving E-commerce Experience: E-commerce Link Digest