Add value to consumers' daily lives to build loyalty: Visual Jazz Isobar

Based on more than 72 sources, the report, focused on Australia, identifies key imperatives for brands based on how much impact they’ll have on businesses, the potential consumer market and their stages in the technological adoption curve.

Highlights of the report include:

• Social networks have not only changed the way people discover information, but also have been shaping traditional search engines, such as Google’s ‘Search Plus Your World’, Microsoft’s integration of Facebook Likes into their search engine, and Bing’s algorithms. When online peer recommendation becomes a key way people discover content, brands should build up a genuine trust with their audience, as well as ensure their digital properties are well integrated with social, which will optimise their effectiveness by driving high value sharing and engagement to translate to high visibility.
• As one of the world’s most digital-savvy nations, more than 45 per cent of Australians use a smartphone as their primary technology device, 24 per cent of them own tablets and the average household owns eight items of technology or more, according Ofcom’s International Communications Market Report 2012. While cross-screen and cross-media behaviour has increased expectations for integrated digital experiences, the key is to stay focused, meaning delivering the one thing consumers want from your brand across the most relevant devices.
• With more Australians looking for value in their brand interactions, applications with functional and relevant benefits are consistently outperforming in app stores and outlasting on devices. So, adding value to consumer’s daily lives will help brands create deeper, longer-lasting relationships.
• With the increasing recognition of online shopping in Australia, retailers who have embraced digital channels are seeing success. However, while Australians’ patriotism offers an opportunity for Aussie brands, only 47 per cent of them have an online sales channel, with close to 80 per cent of them having only launched in the past two years, according to Experian Marketing Services’ Retail in Australia report. This indicates an increasing need to convert brands’ talk of omni-channel into truly integrated 360-degree shopping experiences.
• Valuable data can help brands better understand consumers’ behaviour, reaction and desire, and digital technology makes creating and collecting data easier than ever. Organisations need to put in place processes and KPIs around their data collection and the usage of the data. The FYI report points out that social media data is now optimising consumers’ digital experiences by delivering more relevant and trusted content and advertising, and making it easier to engage with websites. Brands should combine social data and CRM databases to create a targeted and relevant experience to help build closer relationships.
• Crowd business includes not only collaboration between consumers and companies, but also between organisations. Brands should analyse social data around their category, feeding insights garnered into all relevant strategic planning across all departments, followed by reaching out to ask for the consumers’ ratings, reviews and input.
• Technological advances are not only changing the way businesses communicate with their customers, but also influencing their plans, strategies, innovation and measurement. Digital experience needs to be delivered across the organisation from the leadership team to all departments.