We take a look at 5 customer trends not to be missed in 2015 and the best practices for responding to them.
1. The customer hyper-rationalises his buying act
Preparing the purchase via e-commerce sites, test sites and consumer forums has become widespread in all sectors (81% of buyers on average according to a BVA-Mappy study). Customers are therefore better informed and make their choice with a clear conscience. Consumers postpone their purchase to get the best price: they wait until the sales or the next price cut, thanks to price tracking tools such as CamelCamelCamel for Amazon or Castorus for real estate.
How can you take this hyper-rationalisation into account so as not to lose market share, if possible without reducing your margins?
- Set uptargeted marketing activities to activate dormant customers: reminders of products put in the basket, free shipping on the next order, alerts on reduced stocks, etc.
- Be transparent about the evolution of prices, both downwards and upwards!
- Monitor competitors' price positioning
- Highlightproduct reviews: if they are positive, they will encourage immediate purchase
2. The customer chooses the channel that offers the best response to his need
The interaction between the company and the customer is nowadays done through a multitude of channels, whether it is to sell, to deliver or to provide services such as after-sales.
The customer has the choice of channel and therefore of the timing, the modalities and sometimes the price that he expects from the company to ensure the desired interaction.
For example, in the case of a delivery, the customer will choose to be delivered as quickly as possible and at home, even if it means paying more, or to wait a little longer, or even to go to a collection point, to save on postage costs.
For information on his file (travel, insurance, etc.), he will go to the agency and prefer a direct "human" interaction to obtain an immediate and complete answer on a complex subject. They will send a simple e-mail if the answer is less urgent or use the automated telephone platform if the question is more routine.
The customer has very specific expectations regarding these different interactions, how can the company anticipate them and provide a satisfactory response?
- Offer a wide choice of channels, and clearly explain the servicepossibilities and comparative advantages of each.
- Empower employees and give them the means they deem necessary to satisfy the customer. This is the strategy implemented by Zappos: advisors are not judged on their speed in answering the customer's questions, but on their ability to fully satisfy the customer.
- To offer a maximum of information and online services and to anticipate as much as possible customers' questions, in order to provide quick answers and relieve the front office teams.
3. The customer communicates about his experience
Some customers - satisfied or not - communicate spontaneously about their experience with a brand or product (23% of French consumers post a review on a social network and 40% post a review on a specialised forum (Cetelem consumer observatory 2014).
Even more people do so when they are offered the opportunity to give feedback and rate their experience or the product in a targeted communication following the purchase. This has several advantages for the company:
- it values the customer by taking into account their feedback,
- it allows us to "catch up" with an unsatisfied customer by providing a personalised response to their dissatisfaction,
- It allows the identification of problematic products or services and the implementation of appropriate corrective measures,
- it enriches product pages with user reviews that are considered very useful by new buyers.
A process for requesting and processing feedback should therefore be implemented to continuously improve the customer experience, build customer loyalty and acquire new customers:
- Satisfaction survey on the use of a product one month after purchase (for identified customers)
- Treatment of the opinion expressed: thanks in the case of a positive evaluation, publication of negative evaluations with a visibleresponse on the site and possible one-to-one contact for further information
4. The customer is increasingly consuming in a collaborative manner
Collaborative practices have their origins mainly in the economic crisis, but also in a more ethical approach to consumption: it is better to exchange, resell or give away what could still be useful.
The Observatoire de la Confiance (La Poste / TNS Sofres 2013) tells us that 8 out of 10 French people use new collaborative consumption methods (emergence of bartering, renting, reselling products that are no longer used, etc.).
In France, 80% of consumers admit that they would use a retailer more if it allowed them to return used equipment they wanted to get rid of (Cetelem consumer observatory 2014).
It is therefore becoming essential that these practices are integrated into the business model of companies:
- Decathlon understood this a long time ago by offering the Trocathlon concept. The brand has just digitalised this offer by setting up a specific site with a list of used products.
- Similarly, services that put individuals in contact with each other so that they can carry out joint projects and/or purchases are multiplying. The most legitimate brands are acting as intermediaries to facilitate these exchanges.
- Many e-commerce sites (Amazon, Fnac, etc.) allow their customers to resell items they no longer use. Customers benefit from the visibility of the platform and can immediately use the money earned to buy other new or second-hand products.
5. The customer expects more (personalized) relationship and less transaction
The customer now expects to be recognised by the company, but not only to receive personalised offers. They also expect the company to remember the various interactions they have had with it, so that it can process their requests more efficiently.
The shops of the big brands must therefore reappropriate what makes the strength of small local shops: the friendly relationship, the personalised advice and the spontaneous recognition.
The reasons why consumers did not make a purchase on the Internet in 2014 were more to do with the need to touch or see the products (65% on average) than to get advice from salespeople (20% on average) (Observatoire Cetelem 2014).
The salesperson is therefore no longer there just to advise and sell a product, he or she must be the vector of the experience that the company wants its customers to have:
- To achieve this, the well-being and motivation of the Front Office teams is essential: they must find meaning in their actions and be truly customer-oriented.
- The salesperson must be able to identify his or her customers at the earliest stage of the relationship, for example by using a smartphone or a phablet to scan their loyalty card.
- Training in customer care is becoming more important than technical training on products.
Taking into account all these trends and implementing the appropriate actions within your company according to your targets and your market is essential today, to meet your customers' expectations. Avoid being subjected to them and creating a "disappointing" effect that is prohibitive for your customers. Seize them as an opportunity to prove to them that you understand them and that you love them!
To go further, discover the KESTIO webinars, where we discuss
all topics related to business performance with our experts:
Fabien Comtet, CEO
Dominique Seguin, DG
Nicolas Boissard, Marketing Director
