Top 5 Takeaways from Avaus Expert Talks Stockholm 2020

Avaus Expert Talks was a full afternoon focusing on data. The main point of discussion was how to stick to strategic growth initiatives related to data, and simultaneously adapt to the new normal. The agenda was full to the brim of industry experts and thought leaders sharing both inspirational and hands-on recommendations for how to tackle this challenge – and below you can find 5 of the most appreciated highlights:

Sofie Perslow, Aller Media

Sofie Perslow, Aller Media @Avaus Expert Talks 2020

“Your data isn’t worth anything unless you activate it” – with those words Sofie Perslow kicked off her mind blowing presentation. Sofie shared impressive achievements that her team at Aller have managed to realise in the past 12 months, and her best recommendations for how to not just use, but actually activate our data at speed.

The key learnings shared by Sofie were:

• Invest in a robust and stable data platform – “you can’t put bricks on a house of cards and expect it to stand”
• Put your money and effort on data engineering to make sure you have high quality data. Data science comes second.
• Activate the data out in the organisation by gathering cross-functional teams and locate the areas of the business that will benefit most from algos

Kati Sulin, DNA

Kati Sulin, DNA @Avaus Expert Talks 2020

Kati Sulin admits that having a solid tech and data foundation was the first challenge on DNA’s personalisation journey, closely followed by the second challenge: changing the organisation’s way of thinking and working. She has managed with the mission of minimising churn, and maximising customer satisfaction at DNA by putting all her effort into three key areas:

• Customer centricity and especially customer needs
• Adapting to an agile way of working
• Utilising data and AI across the organisation

Her transparent presentation is very valuable for those looking for solid recommendations on how to create value for end users as well as true business results.

Marcus Risberg, TallinkSilja

Marcus Risberg, TallinkSilja @Avaus Expert Talks 2020

One of my favourite parts of AET was the fireside chat with Marcus Risberg. A few months ago he played “End of the worlds as we know it” (REM) for his organisation, and boy was he right about that! The surreal and difficult situation in the world has obviously hit a company like TallinkSilja very hard, yet Marcus manages to keep the spirit, humor and level of innovation high. With great confidence in the business and team, TallinkSilja have used the summer to transform part of their business and introduce new destinations and routes (an impressive initiative that has resulted in sold out cruises and increased customer satisfaction).

With the stamina and courage to look ahead Marcus hopes to be playing “Shiny happy people” (REM) for his team, within a not too distant future. What an inspirational CEO!

Jerker Olofsson, AtlasCopco

Jerker Olofsson, AtlasCopco @Avaus Expert Talks 2020

With “the best job at Atlas Copco” Jerker Olofsson takes the stage and immediately transmits his high energy to the audience! Jerker explains how his team wanted to create profitable growth at Atlas Copco by developing a global framework for doing sales. The improved sales process was tightly connected to a superior buying experience – just what the B2B market requires – and aligned with the already existing digital sales process. Selling the idea internally was the main challenge but once the framework was approved and defined Jerker and his team started to “implement like hell” and trained over 1700 sales representatives globally. 

With the global pandemic the emphasis on virtual interaction, both for sales and training, became more apparent. This has pushed Jerker and his organisation to jump on the next part of their learning journey with the virtual program SPS (Strategic Partnership Selling). Jerker is a true role model when it comes to B2B sales and customer experience, and many organisations have plenty to learn from his innovative and action focused approach to sales.

Scott Brinker, ChiefMartech

Scott Brinker, ChiefMartech @Avaus Expert Talks 2020

“The age of the augmented marketeer and customer” is what we can expect from the coming decade if we put our trust into thought leader Scott Brinker. For more than a decade Scott has shared his ideas about the martech landscape and development on his blog ChiefMartech. In his sensational presentation at AET he shared his view on the most prominent trends that will impact the lives of marketeers in the coming years:

• No code citizen creatives

Companies can expect tools that will enable them to realise not just low-end use cases without having to use code, but also more advanced and complex use cases

• Platforms, networks and marketplaces

With the future of platforms, networks and marketplaces organisations no longer have to choose between being centralised or decentralised, but rather embrace both structures simultaneously. 

• The great app explosion

500 million digital apps will be deployed by 2023. Scott gives a brief overview of everything from the Cloud Platforms to the custom apps based on those platforms, and gives us a brief idea how this rapid development will change the market

• From Big data to Big ops

Scott is on the same track as Sofie Perslow pointing out that large quantities of data is not El Dorado, but that the full chanin of capturing, distilling and activating data is the largest opportunity out there today

Scott also predicts that with more automation, tech and data our jobs as marketeers are not at risk, but rather changing focus. We need to learn how to utilise and interact with the tools available and add our value as humans into the process. For anyone working within marketing or sales this presentation should be mandatory, and will for sure bring you some challenging ideas about what your future work life might look like as an augmented marketeer.