Sprinklr, a unified customer experience management platform for modern enterprises, announced the inauguration of its new bureau at Dubai Internet City, as a part of its expansion plan into the Middle East region. The hub will cater to all operations in its key growth markets, spanning the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific regions, offering services including product management, implementation support, customer success, technical consulting, and marketing resources.
In an exclusive interview with Communicate, Ragy Thomas, Founder and CEO of Sprinklr, discusses how technology plays a crucial role in enabling brands and advertisers today to build and further drive human experiences.
How are brands in the Middle East connecting with their consumer today? What is driving them?
We're seeing a growing sense of urgency in this region compared to global markets. The Middle East is a very tightly connected market. Brands here are eager to enhance customer and product experience.
As the region continues to be identified for its creator and influencer economy. How do you suggest brands today leverage that?
The notion of free social media is no longer applicable. This requires a strategic investment in influencers and advocacy programs to effectively utilize the power of social and digital platforms. It's crucial to recognize that there's a cost associated with leveraging these channels. Specifically, embracing a concept we refer to as microambassadorship holds immense potential, though its success hinges on careful execution. Authenticity is paramount in this context – identifying individuals who genuinely resonate with the brand is essential. Unlike traditional celebrities, influencers connect with their audience on a personal level, and therefore, any endorsement must align with their true affinity for the brand.
To navigate this landscape effectively, technology becomes a key ally. Firstly, it aids in understanding the influencer's genuine interests and affinities, ensuring a more authentic partnership. Secondly, technology plays a critical role in monitoring and managing these partnerships. It acts as a vigilant force, patrolling and policing the influencer landscape, keeping a close eye on how influencers engage with the brand as well as their interactions with competitors and other content. This proactive monitoring is vital to avoid potential pitfalls and safeguard the brand image. In essence, the digital era demands a strategic and tech-driven approach to influencer marketing to capitalize on its power while mitigating risks associated with misinformation or damaging content.
With Sprinklr’s expansion into the region, what solutions are you looking to extend to brands and advertisers?
We offer two comprehensive product suites tailored to the needs of marketing buyers. The first is our Marketing and Social Suite, which encompasses a robust campaign framework. This includes strategic planning, briefing, copy creation, workflow management, governance, asset management, and a tagging infrastructure. Moreover, it features a sophisticated reporting infrastructure, allowing users to generate metadata, execute campaigns on preferred channels, and optimize across diverse markets, media types, and products. This all-encompassing suite empowers users with a potent combination of campaign content creation, workflow management, and optimization capabilities.
The second suite is our digital insights module, driven by our advanced digital listening capabilities. Leveraging a repository of publicly available data (relevant to brands), Sprinklr Insights enables users to gain a comprehensive understanding of customer sentiments. Users can explore customer preferences and concerns, analyze the language used when discussing products or competitors, and benchmark their brand against others in terms of product affection, brand perception, executive sentiment, and store preference. These insights serve as a foundation for developing enhanced content and campaign strategies.
Sprinklr's expansion will bring innovative technology closer to companies in the region - offering enhanced customer engagement, personalized shopping experiences, and efficient resolution of customer issues. It also facilitates real-time employee collaboration, AI-driven capabilities, and streamlined operations, benefiting companies and their customers.
This piece was first published in Communicate's inaugural Best Places to Work 2023 issue.
