Key trends are reshaping the commercial excellence and marketing landscapes as businesses prepare for the changes expected by 2025. A recent study by Vesper Commercial Excellence, which surveyed 130 sales and marketing leaders throughout Europe, highlights five pivotal areas: employee well-being, customer experience management (CXM), data-driven strategies, the rising importance of artificial intelligence (AI), and challenges tied to the tight labor market.
According to Gerben Willemsen, managing partner of Vesper Commercial Excellence, "The dynamic and rapidly developing nature of the commercial world presents opportunities and challenges for leaders across industries. Our research revealed how commercial leaders are tackling the intricacies of today's markets." The study emphasizes the need for organizations to adapt and stay competitive amid shifting dynamics.
One significant trend is focused on improving employee well-being. Companies are increasingly recognizing the correlation between healthy, satisfied employees and their productivity levels. This is driven by greater awareness of mental health and adjustments to work culture post-pandemic, favoring flexible hours and hybrid work models. Many organizations are now incorporating well-being initiatives—ranging from mental health support to healthier workplace environments—into their culture and training programs. Despite this progress, attention remains on effectively measuring the impact of these well-being initiatives.
Another area of focus is customer experience management (CXM). With shifts toward digitalization, customers now expect more personalized and seamless interactions over various platforms. Businesses are adjusting their commercial strategies accordingly, emphasizing CXM as part of their core value propositions. This entails fostering customer-centric cultures and training teams to provide personalized engagements. Yet, challenges remain—effectively segmenting customers and managing the complexity of operations are just two hurdles companies must overcome.
Data and AI have also carved their niche within the commercial excellence framework. The influence of vast amounts of data on decision-making and customer interactions continues to grow. Firms are leveraging data analytics to optimize operational efficiencies and personalize customer experiences. Laurie Aquilante, VP of Customer Success at HubSpot, remarked, "Everyone is talking about AI, but unstructured data is also equally important," pointing to the need for clean and unified data to drive successful AI implementations. With unstructured data becoming increasingly valuable, organizations are urged to invest significantly in systems and technologies to generate actionable insights from this wealth of information.
The emergence of AI is revolutionizing the CRM sector, with innovations enabling businesses to automate tasks, improve engagement, and drive customer satisfaction. Simon Thorpe, Global Director of Product Marketing at Pegasystems, highlighted, "Integrative AI creates unprecedented real-time customer insights." AI adoption is instrumental across various operational touchpoints, enabling businesses to remain agile—transforming onboarding, email support, and customer service delivery.
Focusing on seamless fulfillment, Simon Morris, VP of Solution Consulting at ServiceNow, mentioned the necessity for unified platforms to connect front-end interactions with back-office operations to meet rising client expectations. The integration of CRM with enterprise resource planning (ERP) data provides businesses with comprehensive customer overviews, facilitating proactive and effective customer service operations.
AI-driven personalization is also reshaping CRM usage, with report findings indicating strong consumer interest. Andrew Lawson, SVP EMEA at Zendesk, shared, "AI-driven personalization is transforming the CRM market, enabling businesses to deliver more seamless experiences." Such personalized solutions support agents with recommendations and insights, helping them engage customers more effectively and respond with greater relevance.
While embracing these trends proves promising, organizations also face challenges such as stiff competition for talent. The current labor market has tilted with more job openings than available skilled workers, compelling companies to rethink how they attract and retain employees. Many organizations are enhancing compensation packages and emphasizing training and upskilling to address this gap. The feedback from industry leaders stresses the urgency of adapting to these changing workforce dynamics.
Concluding, the study presented by Vesper Commercial Excellence calls for companies to proactively navigate these trends to maintain relevance and success going forward. The commercial excellence sphere is rapidly transforming, and only those who adequately adapt to these changes stand to benefit as we head toward 2025.