The influence of Generation Z, as well as other consumer profiles, is forcing brands to leave their comfort zone and offer greater added value in their offers, since today poor service or a bad product can cause deep crisis in companies and negatively impact their results.
During the conference The new relationship with consumers , which took place at the Inter.Mx Expansión Summit 2022, Ignacio Aguiriano, director of Public Relations of Liverpool, admitted that in the last two years, the evident changes in consumption and the forced digital acceleration put brands in check.
To strengthen the relationship with the new consumer, Liverpool had to move quickly in implementing its omnichannel strategy. With 123 stores closed due to the pandemic, the retail company made sure to have more channels open to serve customers, including its e-commerce platform, an app, and click and collect and click and car options.
“That made our digital channel become number one, with an increase of 500%. Today Liverpool is defined not only as a department store but also as an omnichannel store, that is, we have many open channels to serve each final consumer”, he says.
However, the rapid adaptation was a challenge for the company. Aguiriano affirms that the demand and change in the client’s consumption habits made them face challenges in logistics, distribution and delivery times. “Fortunately, we managed to remain in the market leadership and in the top of mind of our consumers,” he says.
In this regard, Rosalina Villanueva, director of Clients in Latin America at WGSN, comments that although the pandemic accelerated digital by 10 years, it also influenced the consumer, especially the new generations, who no longer want to receive phone calls to solve a problem. issue. Now he is looking for practicality and as brands we have less of his attention, so that part of surprising the consumer becomes very important.
Still, we have new possibilities for storytelling, he says. The consumer is seeking to have a more concrete dialogue with the brands, it gives many indications of what are the things that they need from a product or service.
“Brands must be alert. In the company we look for the communication channels that may be most important to them, and we know that despite digitization, 82% of purchases are made in the physical store, so the face-to-face approach returns […] Even with high levels of inflation, people want to continue consuming”, he comments.
This could be good news for insurance companies, a sector that has traditionally leveraged its marketing strategy face-to-face . However, Alonso Pallarés, digital director of Interprotección, says that a constant challenge for them is to communicate clearly with customers, and in the digital sphere it is no exception.
“Our intention has been to create an understandable offer, taking the complexity out of the insurance world. I believe that the key is to provide a simple sales process with clear support and access channels so that customers are happy”.
His recent commitment is to invest in technology to offer a personalized service through different platforms. In their case, social networks have become a strategic pillar that helps them gain customer loyalty and build long-term relationships.
And although, in his opinion, it is still difficult to think of an insurance experience in the metaverse, it is a fact that in the short term the industry will have to expand its value offer with products and services, designed for the consumer who already moves in this parallel reality.
The evolution of consumption in the metaverse
For Diego Fabiani, CEO of Globant Mexico, the metaverse is an area of opportunity for all brands. It is a world that is represented in 54,000 million dollars only in types of digital assets such as NFTs, which allow a safe way to portray a unique and unforgettable moment and that is part of the secondary elements that make up a new digital experience.
“A phenomenal panorama opens up from the pandemic; the culture and the way in which the final consumer expresses himself has evolved. Companies that are transforming digitally, but also culturally, to be able to interpret the behavior of their users with technology will gain a competitive advantage”, he warns.
“With the metaverse we see a world of tremendous opportunity because it is the evolution of social networks. According to Bloomberg, by 2024 this space of the metaverse will contemplate 800,000 million dollars and the use cases will be developed until 2030”, he details.
Currently, Globant is already working on different initiatives on metaverse platforms with brands such as E-Sports, Sony and Microsoft. The same with DJ deadmau5, beyond his professional practice, he is already exploring these digital environments to bring a different musical experience to users.
It is the soon future, points out Rosalina Villanueva. It is not that many years are missing or that tomorrow we will already be with a doctor in the metaverse, but it is evolving. In addition, Mexico is the number one country in Latin America with the highest penetration of gamers on any device, 92% play on their cell phones and the highest percentage of users who own a video game console.
“Right now it is cumbersome to think that you need many devices, but there are already brands that are investing so that people can do without these devices and have an experience in the metaverse. As brands we have to prepare ourselves to have something to offer the consumer who is eager to understand and belong to this parallel reality”.
The importance of digital
The specialists who participated in the conference agree that the metaverse will maintain the connection with the physical. Different generations use all the channels, says Aguiriano, who reveals that it was not a challenge for Liverpool to bring older generations into the digital world. “The change is not only for the brands, but also for the consumer.”
In this sense, the immediate mission is to put the final consumer at the center of business decisions and guarantee contact in the different channels where the target audience is, which is not just one.
“Faced with a similar product, users prefer to pay 86% a higher price for a better experience. It is predicted that the companies that invested in digitization to get to know the consumer better will grow by 70% in three years”, Fabiani reveals.
To get to know consumers better and achieve valued personalization, Rosalina Villanueva advises paying attention to the evolution of channels and social networks per se . In a short time, TikTok, for example, became an essential tool for contact with generation Z, but it is also the bridge that, through videos, reconnects with traditional media such as television.
Influencers also became celebrities , due to the rise of social networks like this one. That is why in Liverpool the concept of Live Streaming is becoming more relevant. “It allows us to have interaction and feedback from the public at that moment. Today the consumer wants to be part of something beyond himself, as brands we must help and create strategies that add him, “concludes the manager of Liverpool.
