What do citizens expect and need from brands today? How can companies build closer relationships, based on trust and mutual loyalty, with their customers? These and many other issues related to the vertiginous transformations that technology has caused in the way of buying and selling products and services will be analyzed in depth at the Salesforce Innovation Day that will take place in Barcelona on June 21.
In this meeting, which will be attended by various experts and professionals, it will address, among other issues, how our world has changed thanks to digitization, or how brands can become optimal platforms to drive beneficial changes for our society on issues such as the fight against inequality or climate change.
With the aim of having first-hand information to understand how consumers really behave in the age of digitization and new technologies, Salesforce has recently produced a report entitled State of Connected Customer, for which it has surveyed more than 17,000 customers and some 4,000 purchasing managers from trading companies in 29 different countries. The figures show clear conclusions: in Spain, for example, 88% of consumers believe that the shopping experience is as important as the product itself.
As Pau Contreras, vice president of Salesforce, points out, there is no doubt that everything related to the experience is crucial for customer loyalty, especially in an economy that is increasingly connected and with multiple online options. In this context, “the ability of users to change companies has also grown. In the last year, 71% of consumers, globally, changed brands at least once. And in Spain that figure increases to 75%”.
Today, personalized attention has become a real priority to establish lasting relationships with customers, as confirmed by the fact that 73% of those surveyed expect companies to understand their expectations and special needs.
It is clear that there is no going back in the digitization process. Although many thought that the unstoppable rise of online shopping modalities was largely due to the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, the truth is that, after the return to physical interactions, in our country 60% of relationships between companies and consumers have continued to go through the Network, and 62% of the citizens consulted assure that they have bought products using new methods since 2020.
Regarding the influence of COVID-19, 66% of consumers think that it will continue to substantially affect purchases for more than a year. 18%, on the other hand, believe that this incidence will last less than a year and 7% assure that, at present, it no longer influences their activities in any way.
Beyond these circumstances, customers who have already begun to familiarize themselves with contactless payment systems, Virtual Reality, online shopping or any other new technology in the last two years "massively expect to maintain a digital-first relationship with companies in the future”, as Contreras explains. At the same time, those who, during confinement, verified how technology helped brands to provide them with quick and effective solutions to their needs have wanted to preserve these advantages.
In the case of B2B Commerce (that is, the digital transaction modality that occurs between companies), 78% of purchasing managers confirm that they have tried new ways of acquiring products since 2020, and 81% have reported differently from the traditional way with its suppliers during this same period.
Despite everything, digital interactions in the professional sphere are still lower than those of individual consumption. The telephone is, today, the preferred means for these procedures (98%), followed by email (96%) and personal treatment (89%), while only 55% choose to connect digitally. Of this last group, 88% highlight the importance of B2B purchases in the current situation.
The scenarios of change and uncertainty make us especially value trust, values and integrity, as confirmed by 88% of the total respondents (and 86% of the Spanish). Citizens have expressed, in recent times, a growing skepticism towards the rulers and the media. On the contrary, as Contreras points out, "68% of customers expect companies not only to satisfy their wishes, but also to do so responsibly and taking into account the interests of society, which represents a significant increase compared to 59% of people who agreed with this information two years ago.”
In addition, 61% of consumers today feel comfortable with the increasingly transparent and beneficial way in which companies manage personal information. Undoubtedly, more and more people are aware that data, treated responsibly and guaranteeing total privacy, is an ideal tool to offer them experiences tailored to their needs.
In order for this new way of conceiving relations between companies and citizens to be definitively consolidated, it is essential that the former bet on adapting their procedures to the era of digitization. Brian Solis, Global Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce, is convinced that organizations will choose to continue investing in technology after the pandemic so they can deliver “connected, useful, and satisfying experiences” for their customers.
The appointment with Salesforce Innovation Day will be a magnificent opportunity to reflect on all these issues, share successful experiences and continue exploring all the possibilities that technologies offer us for the future that awaits us.
