When consumers decide which product or service to use, how do they make that choice? Advertising certainly has a say in this decision, but it is not enough to differentiate between similar products and services on offer.
Therefore, the experience consumers have with a brand is more relevant than ever.
Analyzing the customer experience is one of the steps that will help you build loyalty among existing customers and attract new ones through a referral system. Consumers are very receptive to recommendations made by friends and acquaintances, and they are even willing to make recommendations themselves.
Customer Experience, More Important Than the Promise of Quality
In a study conducted by Ipsos & Medallia, when asked about the factors that influence their purchasing decisions or their choice to continue using a brand, personal experience and the opinions of friends, family, and acquaintances were at the top of consumers’ responses.
Half of the respondents indicated personal experience as the primary motivation when choosing to buy from a specific brand, while 20% mentioned the opinions of friends and family, and 9% mentioned other consumers’ online opinions about the brand.
New technologies contribute to this system of brand building through recommendations. Social networks and review sites (for example, Tripadvisor) have changed the way brands and consumers interact. Through these means, brand reputation is constantly evaluated, thus diminishing the power companies once held over their own image through traditional communication and promotion methods.
Currently, a brand’s public image is defined online through reviews that reflect the experiences of hundreds, even thousands, of consumers. More than half of consumers say they have left a review regarding their experience interacting with a brand.
Customer Orientation, an Essential Approach for Every Department
By 2020, Customer Experience is expected to be a central part of any business strategy. A company that aims to grow, not just survive, will adapt to market needs and consult its consumers, building loyalty and attracting them through unique experiences that are distinct from those of competitors.
The change is already happening. According to a study by Walker Consulting, 86% of consumers or potential consumers are willing to pay more for a better shopping experience. If you’re wondering how to improve the customer experience, we’re here to help with a series of indicators to track.
Consumers are more informed than ever; with the help of smartphones, they have access to any type of information about brands at any time. They base their purchasing decisions on personal preferences and recommendations received. Thus, consumers dictate the type of experience they want. They expect brands to know their preferences and needs, and to personalize their experience down to the smallest details.
What You Can Measure, You Can Control
Pentru a veni în întâmpinarea nevoilor clienților tăi este important să le identifici preferințele și să le cuantifici. Instrumente precum scorul NPS sau studiile de satisfacție sunt mijloce prin care poți afla care este opinia consumatorilor despre brand, lucru ce îți va permite să iei decizii fundamentate și să răspunzi în timp util, înainte ca nemulțumirile lor să se materializeze în recenzii negative și reorientare către competitori.
Clienții tăi îți transmit informații în mod constant, tot ce trebuie să faci este să le colectezi și să le dai ascultare. Orice interacțiune a consumatorului cu brandul îți oferă informații privind preferințele și așteptările sale.
De exemplu, poți urmări o sesiune de cumpărături online: ce pagini a accesat, ce produse prezintă interes și unde a abandonat cumpărăturile. Identificând acest impas (pain point), vei putea preveni în viitor un nou abandon și astfel vei fideliza o noua categorie de consumatori.
Know your consumers
Pentru a oferi experiențe pe care clienții nu doar că nu le vor uita repede, ci care îi vor face să se întoarcă în magazin, este prioritar să le afli cât mai fidel preferințele. Analiza comportamentului consumatorului presupune colectarea datelor și interpretarea lor într-un mod care să capete sens pentru toate departamentele companiei.
Este imperios necesar să le înțelegi nevoile, preferințele și să le arăți cum produsul sau serviciul companiei tale le poate rezolva problemele, făcându-le viața mai ușoară. Analiza datelor despre consumatori, ar trebui să răspundă la următoarele întrebări:
- What exactly motivates them to buy your brand’s product/service?
- How can you improve their interaction with the brand?
Cu cât analizezi mai multe seturi de date despre consumatori, cu atât le vei înțelege mai bine comportamentul. Un mix de analize calitative și cantitative este cea mai bună abordare. Poți începe cu câteva cifre din propria bază de clienți. Apoi, extrage datele calitative prin diverse metode: observație, focus-grup sau interviuri structurate. Citește mai multe despre cercetarea calitativă aici.
Când un client cumpără sau interacționează online cu brandul tău, îți oferă o sumedenie de informații: date demografice, metodele de plată preferate, adresa de email, adresa de livrare care îți indică mărimea localității.
Mai mult, există o serie de instrumente, precum Google Analytics, Hotjar sau Heap Analytics care îți oferă informații suplimentare: sistemul de operare folosit de client, landing page-urile accesate, timpul petrecut pe site sau rata de bounce.
Puse cap la cap, aceste informații îți arată călătoria consumatorului, cât și profilul acestuia – fără a accesa datele sale personale, deci respectând reglementările legale de protecție a datelor cu caracter personal.
Conduct a study
Adună date chiar de la sursă și vorbește direct cu clienții tăi. Cel mai ușor mod de a ajunge la un număr mare de oameni este prin intermediul unui chestionar. Dacă te gândești să apelezi la această metodă, ai la dispoziție instrumente gratuite, precum Google Forms, pentru a lansa un chestionar de satisfacție.
Rezultatele studiului ți-ar putea confirma bănuieli sau, din contră, îți vor aduce o perspecctivă la care nu te-ai fi gândit nicicum. Un studiu pe consumatori te poate ajuta în segmentare și în definirea categoriilor de persona.
A brand’s consumers have certain problems and want to solve them
A particularly important aspect should not be overlooked: brand users are more than just numbers, they are people. They take certain actions because they have certain problems and because they want to solve them. Understanding the consumer experience with the brand or product helps you find out why users take a certain action or give up in the middle of it.
Customers can come from a wide variety of industries or contexts, but their common denominator is the desire to solve the problem. The product or service offered makes their daily life easier, but the way they interact with the brand can make the difference in the decision to return.
The consumer experience from MKOR’s perspective
By the nature of our mission, we are always looking for new ways to deliver results to our clients who, in turn, want to keep pace with market changes. That’s why we developed our own study for fashion consumers in the digital age.
Starting from the consumers’ need to feel at the center of attention and from the fashion brands’ need to meet them, MKOR specialists conducted the Digital Fashion Consumer Trends study.
Digital Fashion Consumer Trends 2019 Study
The study was conducted for the first time a year ago, in 2017. Due to its success and the feedback received from interested players, we decided to resume it in an improved version, following the feedback received (we also apply what we advise you!).
Digital Fashion Consumer Trends presents a comparative analysis of the development directions of classic and online retail. The study includes an analysis of the digital trends experienced by consumers.
The 2018 Digital Fashion Consumer Trends study will be launched this fall and will bring new comparative analyses between years (2017 vs. 2018), will track the evolution of trends, and will continue to answer the question “What does the fashion store of the future look like?”
The research report is an ideal tool for those active in the fashion industry who want to know their consumers.
For example, the study reveals the openness of Romanian consumers to using new technologies and digital communication and information channels.
UPDATE: the study on fashion consumer preferences has been published in the own studies section.
Be the first to know!
If you want to be among the first to receive exclusive access to part of the results of the Digital Fashion Consumer Trends study, subscribe to the newsletter. You will receive an email so you can download the results of this year’s study.
And if the fashion industry is not relevant to you, the invitation to sign up for the newsletter remains valid, because this way you will be up to date with the latest news in the field of marketing research and, implicitly, closer to your consumers.
