The Consumer Journey Has Changed

THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY HAS CHANGED

Well, the last few months have been a frantic roller coaster ride for the entire globe with brands going in a frenzy, Kabir M. Malkani Assistant GM – Marketing having no or little control to salvage their sales as the pandemic has Shopping Malls created a large vacuum in generating LALS Group any sort of remuneration. With the complete disruption in sales due to the restrictions in movement; business heads, sales teams, and marketers are trying to find an acceptable equilibrium in sales by continuously devising new strategies to reclaim their almost lost trade. A key factor that will aid organizations to recoup from this unexpected and indefinite situation lies in deciphering and understanding the NEW CUSTOMER JOURNEY and identifying what alterations will comply with the new normal and reduce customer friction.

Will the customer journey continue to change? That depends on how soon the vaccine is created and manufactured for use in the market and also on the ease of movements and health and safety provisions. Customer civic sense will play an important role in seizing this change. The longer it takes for the vaccine, the stronger will be the new habits etched into customers’ minds.

Customer preferences are not, and never have been, singular. They solely shop as per their comfort and convenience. What captivates and entices them is not only the in-store experience but the ease of the route laid down to reach the product. How well the route is laid will define whether the customer continues to embrace the brand beyond the pandemic.

Hence, companies must ascertain and determine where and how they can connect with their loyal customers during this period in ways that are most suitable to them. Here, Omnichannel marketing will play a key role in achieving this memorable experience, and this is attainable only through the existence of a retail store! Though the role of the store will change!

What truly makes for a good experience? Speed. Convenience. Consistency. Friendliness. And one big connector: human touch—that is, creating real connections by making technology feel more human and giving employees what they need to create better customer experiences. Source: pwc.com/future-of-cx

Customer experience is the new battlefield!

86% of customers are willing to pay more for a better experience! source: research by American Express

Companies that earn $1 billion annually can expect to earn, on average, an additional $700 million within 3 years of investing in customer experience. a study by Temkin Group

Customers are willing to pay a price premium of up to 13% (and as high as 18%) for luxury and indulgence services, simply by receiving a great customer experience. source: pwc.com/future-of-cx

There will always be a human aspect to commerce, and that means there will always be a demand and urge for brick-and-mortar. Human is a social being, he needs to connect with friends, go out for coffee, make physical purchases, visit the mall – online shopping doesn’t allow this human interface and connection. IKEA is the best example of an instore experience which garnered large queues outside their stores on the days following the relaxation of lockdown measures.

Ideally, people will always want a face to face interface especially when they want to purchase products like electronics, laptops, mobiles and TVs. People like to shop in person for products that require some understanding of technical aspects, price comparatives, detailed specs, availability of various models and certain colors. While a customer may get competitive pricing from online sites, they would still like to evaluate and validate the product physically. If physical stores cease to exist, then this offline – online interaction and integration of client and sales providers will fade away to oblivion.

Brick-and-mortar is here to stay, though, they may need to innovate and strategize themselves differently to sustain and survive after the pandemic. There must be an amalgamation of physical and online stores. In the west, brick-and-mortar retail has started to implement a ‘web-rooming’ or ‘showrooming’ approach. Retailers advertise only those products online which are available in the stores so customers can view and select the product via online sites but need to visit the stores to purchase the product. This union will be very beneficial for both online and retail platforms.

Will Brand building still be necessary? – Definitely yes. Due to the emergence of numerous online platforms majority of brands are trying to establish themselves in this upcoming online arena; and there has been a huge paradigm shift in the customer mindset and hence brands due to COVID19. Therefore, brand building and visibility are crucial for brands if they wish to make a lasting impact on new customers. Simultaneously, they also need to focus their efforts on retaining their loyal customers as they are vital for the success of any business.

The industry now needs visionaries who can propel and reinvigorate bricks-and-mortar retail back in the business and create a mark for themselves for the imminent future.