‘The physical world is a place full of opportunities to gather data’

AI and data are two of the most important assets that businesses these days own. At Pitch CMO Sumit 2024, Sridhar Hariharasubramanian, Senior Director, Salesforce India, spoke about data and AI in the physical world.

Hariharasubramanian started the session by quoting American author Seth Godin, “Persistent, consistent, and frequent stories delivered to an aligned audience will earn attention and trust”

Sridhar Hariharasubramanian spoke about the paradigm shift in the way people discover products online. He, however, said that there is still an inclination towards physical experience. “When I speak to customers, they still say that the culmination of all journeys is still in the physical world. It is important to understand how can we do better in the physical world. The digital and the physical world is often colliding that's where the term ‘phygital’ has come from. So, the physical world is important and there are a lot of opportunities to gather information.”

He spoke further about how the physical world is a place to collect breadcrumbs, which means consumer behaviours. These insights will help you to determine the target consumers. He said, “The data not only can be used for marketing purposes but also can be transferred to other departments in the organization. These data clouds have emerged as repositories or reservoirs of information that can serve the organization."

He went on to explain the services their organization provides, helping businesses understanding their customers better.

Speaking about Gen AI, and said that we are at the early stage of the revolution and there is a lot to happen. He also stressed the importance of data quality, and said, “Gen AI can only take as far as the quality of data accumulated."

Lastly, he stressed the importance of humanizing digital, making it a foundation to build connection.