Companies struggle to connect with a more demanding customer

The Covid-19 has caused a transformation of the new consumption habits, with data and technology as key factors to offer a unique experience to customers.

Consumer loyalty to brands had been plummeting for some time before the pandemic, but no one could imagine what would happen afterward. Shopping habits have never experienced a transformation comparable to the one experienced in the last two years, where user demands for speed, facilities and control have skyrocketed in a shopping experience that combines face-to-face and digital channels. Faced with these changes in behavior patterns, brands face significant challenges both to attract new customers and to retain them.

In this sense, the use of technology and data seems key to perfecting the strategy and defining the appropriate user experience, as was made clear at the meeting New technologies at the service of the connection between brand and customers, organized by EXPANSION in collaboration with Tenerity.

Changes

Experts agree that, at this time, the client is more informed than ever. “He receives a lot of information through the different channels he uses and is more demanding in response times; he is used to immediacy and doing everything in a simple way,” said Luis Miegimolle, director of payment methods at Deutsche Bank. In the case of the entity, Miegimolle explained that “we are moving towards a relational model of dual banking, with two lines: self-service so that the customer finds everything he needs through the app and large offices for personal banking.”

Information overload can be counterproductive. In the energy sector, “right now we see an overinformed consumer, who is not sure if the rise in prices affects him or if they have a stable rate, and we have to help him so that he can make decisions,” said Aida Kudsi, portfolio director of customers and B2C loyalty of Endesa. The company works with technologies such as marketing automation to personalize what is offered to each user. “You have to personalize, advise and improve the customer experience,” Kudsi said.

On the other hand, the rise of electronic commerce is one of the fundamental features that define this new era of the connection between the company and the user. “The great change that e-commerce introduces is that the company no longer dominates the relationship with the customer in terms of times and places, but now it is he who decides,” said Eduardo Esparza, vice president general manager of Tenerity for Spain and Brazil. In this way, Esparza added that “those companies that know how to connect emotionally with them will be the ones that manage to make a difference.”

Likewise, Jorge García, general director of Santander Assurance Solutions, emphasized that “a very important challenge is to adapt the relational model that companies have with their clients: it must be very proactive and anticipatory. This leads us towards a hyper-personalized service” . Regarding the evolution of consumer demands as a result of the pandemic, the head of Santander’s insurance business pointed out that “the change is marked by concepts such as self-service, instantaneity and simplicity. These factors are intensified in the digital channel, which acquires great importance in this context”.

The immediacy of services is an aspect that has begun to gain value in the field of electronic commerce, but has already spread to all other activities. “The consumer has become accustomed to receiving immediate responses in certain services and, once accustomed to it, now understands that it is something that companies must do even if they operate in different sectors,” said Marta Santamarta, director of marketing and customer solutions at AXA Insurance. Likewise, she added that the uncertainty generated by the global scenario is causing a certain “fatigue” in consumers.

Fidelizacin

Although this was not always the case, today companies are aware that retaining their current customers is much more profitable than capturing new ones. For this reason, the weight of loyalty programs continues to grow in their marketing strategies. Its objective is to increase the benefits that both parties obtain from this relationship, both the company and the client. The first manages to ensure recurrence, while the second obtains incentives and advantageous conditions in their successive purchases.

In fact, users appreciate a more personalized and human relationship with companies. It is one of the main consumer trends in 2022, according to the latest edition of the Digital Choice study, prepared by Tenerity, which also highlights the rise of online and proximity commerce.

“The trend of building customer loyalty is consolidating and will remain in the future,” commented Eduardo Esparza. In an era in which data has become the new oil, better managing the information that is available is key to the success of this type of program. Finally, Aida Kudsi agreed that “loyalty is basic for a company: the customer is our main asset, so we must take care of him and establish a bond with him”.