Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business. You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)

Customers are less motivated by price or quality

Instead they want health, safety & personal service

Accenture's 16th annual research report based on a survey of more than 25,000 consumers across 22 countries, entitled "Life Reimagined: Mapping the motivations that matter for today's consumers" set out to understand how companies can capitalize on evolving consumer expectations to achieve new levels of growth and competitive agility.

Fifty percent of those surveyed are coming out of the pandemic having reimagined their behaviors and values as consumers. They have reevaluated what is important to them in life and are increasingly focused on their personal purpose. This is having a direct impact on what, how and why they buy. An additional 33% of consumers surveyed have evolving values and purchasing mindsets while interestingly, the unprecedented experience of the pandemic has had no impact on the buyer values of 17% of respondents.

"As the world reopens for business, the consumer we knew is no longer. Today's consumer desires a different relationship with a brand," asserts Baiju Shah, chief strategy officer at Accenture Interactive. "Brands must reevaluate and rebuild relevance to these new buyer values, and anticipate and meet the needs of their consumers in the moment. Leaders must make a critical choice to either tune in and create experiences that matter or tune out and miss the opportunity to differentiate and create sustained growth."

The research - created by Accenture Strategy and Accenture Interactive - analyzed over 80 unique factors across 14 industries and found that five distinct areas are increasingly driving consumers' purchasing decisions. The five factors extend beyond price and quality to include health and safety; service and personal care; ease and convenience; product origin; and trust and reputation. Perhaps even more notable is that these five factors, which have been historically important to the specific demographic groups of Gen Z and Millennials, have now hit a tipping point and are considered critical across the full breadth of consumer demographics.

"In order to drive new value and growth, the C-suite must take action now to reset their strategies and set new standards for meeting and exceeding the expectations of consumers. Brands must now differentiate well beyond price and quality," states Bill Theofilou, Accenture Strategy senior managing director who leads CEO & Enterprise Strategy for the company. "Market leaders must assure consumers that their purchasing experiences will be predictable and safe, with minimal risk of harming people or the environment. The five factors serve as the new baseline for capturing the post-pandemic consumer and will be critical for those who aspire to grow as the world emerges from the shifts accelerated in the past 18 months."

Health and safety are paramount. As it turns out:

• Consumers are asking
  Are you keeping my neighbors and me safe? What about your employees?
• Health and safety ranked high in importance for reimagined consumers, with 71% believing it is crucial that companies prioritize health considerations for consumers and employees in all operations.
• Seventy-one percent of reimagined consumers believe that companies/brands are just as responsible as governments for the health of societies.
• Two-thirds (68%) of reimagined consumers would switch travel brands if they felt health and safety were lacking.

And customer service and personal care are top of mind. According to the report:

• Consumers are asking
  Do you remember me? Are you making my experience with your brand as personal as it can be? Are you there for me when I need you?
• More than half of reimagined consumers say they would switch brands if a brand doesn't create clear and easy options for contacting customer service or provide clear responses about service levels related to pandemic or economic/societal issues.
• Moreover, 50% of reimagined consumers say that many companies disappointed them by not providing enough support and understanding of their needs during challenging times.

Ease and convenience must be table stakes, too. The report found that:

• Consumers are asking
  Are you meeting me where I am, in the digital world, the physical world, and through a blend of the two? And are you able to deliver what I need, when I need it, across all channels?
• A substantial 57% of reimagined consumers would switch retailers if they did not "offer new fast and flexible delivery options of goods such as click-and-collect and curbside pickup."
• In the healthcare industry, reimagined consumers appreciate the convenience of virtual health appointments as well, with 51% saying they would change providers if they did not offer online appointments instead of physical visits when appropriate.

Product origin is increasingly important. The report noted that:

• Consumers are asking
  What about the environment, and societal and corporate responsibility? Can you help me make sustainable choices? Can you help me support my local community?
• Reimagined consumers want to know what goes into a product, how it's produced and how far it's been transported. Three-quarters (76%) say they are attracted to brands that source services and materials in highly ethical ways.
• Additionally, 65% of reimagined consumers are attracted to doing business with brands that are environment-friendly.

And, last but definitely not least, trust and reputation are influencing buying decisions:

• Consumers are asking
  Can I trust you to do the right thing for me and not just for your business? Can I trust you to be who you say you are and stand for the things you say you stand for?
• Across a wide swath of industries, a majority of reimagined consumers said they would switch providers if they did not "take visible actions for a positive social impact - e.g., related to inclusion and diversity, environmental protection or protecting the health of the population". For example, in the travel and life insurance industries, "strong ethical values" were either the top or second strongest motivator or loyalty driver among reimagined consumers.

The full report has been made available online at https://www.accenture.com/ConsumerResearch

Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business.

You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy. Grab this goldmine of easily adaptable and up-to-date strategies, walk-throughs, trends, technologies, research, suppliers and partners, plus all the supporting arguments you need to build a solid CX strategy.

While most marketers could list maybe a dozen key points for improving their brand's Customer Experience (CX), the researchers and writers at The Marketing Factbook have identified FORTY main 'CX Keys' which will help you drive your customers to new levels of delight, loyalty, advocacy and profitability.

The areas in which customers have direct contact with your organization are perhaps the most obvious places in which CX improvements can be made, and this report addresses all 24 of these 'Direct CX Keys', applicable to offline and online businesses alike.

At the same time there are many other areas that indirectly affect CX (such as the supply chain, policies and processes) in which every business can make simple but far-reaching improvements. This report guides you through the problems and solutions for all 16 of these 'Indirect CX Keys', many of which are often forgotten or under-played even in the best CX strategies.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)