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The “Internet Trends Report,” which Mary Meeker releases at Silicon Valley’s annual Code Conference, is one of the tech industry’s most important documents. As a former Wall Street securities analyst turned venture capitalist turned partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Meeker is well-known for providing accurate, highly valuable insights on the digital market.
These insights have become increasingly valuable to business leaders as consumers become more reliant on digital devices, e-commerce, and social media. No matter your industry, knowing which internet and tech trends dominate consumer culture is a priceless advantage.
This year especially, Meeker’s report offers insights that every business leader should be aware of. It covers trends in everything from digital media consumption and social media dominance to innovative technologies that change how consumers interact with brands. There’s something for everyone, but these four lessons are the most important if you wish to connect with tech-driven consumers more effectively:
1. Use tech to give patients the customer experience.
Meeker discussed how healthcare is leaning into the digital revolution. As in most industries, it’s driven by a need for better engagement and more affordable products and services. According to Marketplace.org, states are predicting that premiums on the Obamacare insurance exchanges could rise by as much as 50 percent this year, so value and affordability will be key to attracting and retaining patients.
This year’s report suggests that, as a result, healthcare organizations will increasingly turn to technology to treat patients more like customers, giving them a modern retail experience. This is already taking shape in many ways, including healthcare providers implementing AI systems to collect data from IoT-connected wearables to reduce patients’ in-office time. In addition, healthcare organizations are working to create highly personalized treatments, such as those enabled by the PrecisionProfile platform, which Pariveda Solutions and Preventice launched to help doctors determine personalized treatment options for cancer patients.
If you aren’t in healthcare, then you can still gain a lot of value from learning to use tech to improve consumers’ lives. Whether it’s greater affordability, greater convenience or comfort, or an actual life-saving product or service, use tech to give customers the experience they demand.
2. Tech talks now; get in on the conversation.
Perhaps less surprising than the healthcare tech revolution is how fast voice-controlled products, such as Amazon Echo, have gained traction. According to Meeker’s report, the number of installed Echo units in the U.S. jumped from 20 million to 30 million between the third and fourth quarters of 2017. By 2022, voice-controlled personal assistants will be in nearly 55 percent of U.S. households.
Besides optimizing your website for voice-initiated search results, you can also use virtual assistants to add a cutting-edge feel to your brand. For example, real estate agents are programming Echo units to interact with buyers during open houses and answer questions about the home, the neighborhood, schools, and more.
Already, 46 percent of adults use voice-controlled assistants on their smartphones or other devices. Within the next five years, a majority of U.S. consumers will search for products and services mainly by talking to these assistants. Wherever possible, tap into the medium by finding ways to incorporate the technology into your brand’s image.
3. Social media and e-commerce are the keys to growth.
The common theme among Meeker’s insights this year is that everything is going digital, and the growth of e-commerce is a natural extension of that. Meeker says internet sales grew 16 percent in 2017, which is 2 percent higher than the year before. Most importantly, consumers found many of the products they purchased online through some level of social media marketing.
Aside from directly searching for something on Google or through its voice-controlled personal assistants, people learn about new brands and products through social media feeds. For instance, on Pinterest, up to 93 percent of users decide to buy something because they saw it on the platform.
Facebook, the second-largest seller of digital ads, generates more than $40 billion in annual revenue. Of course, it has yet to be seen if that figure takes a nosedive this year because of privacy concerns on the platform. Whether you use Facebook ads or not, take steps to make your brand a presence across multiple social media platforms to attract more attention to it.
4. Data drives satisfaction, but privacy drives success.
While technology is the vehicle that’s driving new business models, data is the fuel that makes it possible. You need data about your consumers to create a more personalized brand experience, which is something customers crave. Yet, as Meeker points out, tech companies have to walk a fine line between using that data effectively and adhering to consumer privacy policies.
In the U.S., security breaches that compromise consumer data can come with hefty penalties, but a more important consequence is the lost trust among your consumer base. In addition, if your e-commerce extends into the European Union, then you’ll have to adhere to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation. There are already calls to enact similar data protection and privacy laws in the U.S., too.
The best way to balance data use and security is to partner with a technology firm that has extensive experience in data protection, especially as it pertains to the GDPR. Hiring in-house expertise has been a popular choice as well -- 46 percent of the managers who responded to a RSA Security poll said they have created a chief data protection officer position.
For the last few years, Meeker’s internet report has helped tech professionals prepare for the biggest trends of the digital age. But this report isn’t just for your IT department. Meeker’s insights can give company leaders in every industry a better idea of what their consumers expect and how to keep up with tech trends.
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