CONTACT MATTERS Businesses must continue to build relationships, not just rely on AI, experts say. —Photo from Accenture Song
Brands seem to be resorting to “shrinkflation”—offering less product or service for the same price—to protect their bottom line, apparently hoping customers will not notice and continue to patronize what they are selling.
But Mark Curtis says such a move may only give the impression that companies are “prioritizing profits” over customer satisfaction.
Curtis was one of three discussants at the 17th annual Life Trends of Accenture Song, which mapped out global consumer trends that every marketer or business leader needs to know in 2024.
While certain cuts may be necessary, “perception is important” in keeping customer loyalty, Curtis stresses. Katie Burke, another discussant, adds that many customers now feel less valued. Companies have to earn their trust.
The major challenge for merchants and businesses is to preserve and strengthen brand loyalty.
Technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), seems to be helping make customers feel they are better understood, says Curtis. “They feel heard and validated” through generative AI.
Contact matters, she adds. Technology is changing the ways of interface and conversational commerce. Better questions are being asked and better answers are given.
Curtis says generative AI is upgrading people’s experience of the internet from transactional to personal, making them feel more digitally understood and more relevant than ever.
“Technology is out there for everybody to use,” she points out.
Simplify, not complicate
But Curtis cautions that many people are starting to feel that the more they use technology, the more it complicates their lives. He points out that businesses have to adapt to shifting demographics: having a younger workforce as significant numbers of older employees retire. They also have to deal with the changing world of work, with people performing jobs in and out of offices, among others.
Curtis stresses the need to constantly keep abreast of changes. People are adopting different lifestyles—with many young people moving back to live with their parents, for example—and are shifting their focus and goals. It makes it hard to make assumptions, and new services will have to be developed.
Agneta Björnsjö stresses that efficiency will have to be a priority for companies. While algorithms are useful, she notes that “people get the same kind of messages because of algorithms.” “Creators have to come up with new ideas,” she says.
Businesses have to understand people’s pace, she adds, and how to make things easier and simpler to enable them to fit technology into their daily lives.
The bottom line for all three experts is the customer should remain the center of attention, the focus of what businesses do. Cultivating their trust should be a priority. Their experience with a product or service is important. It will be different for different products and sectors.
Burke adds that, while technology can empower, there is still a lot about AI that has to be understood. She stresses that without sufficient and reliable data, technology cannot be used efficiently and effectively.
‘Remain human’
The three experts agree, however, that in everything businesses do, they should not forget that their targets, the customers they want to reach and keep, are human. They should not take decisions lightly, says Burke.
They remind businesses not to depend on scientific advances to provide solutions. Technology, in fact, may be restraining creativity to adapt and respond to market developments. Businesses may now be relying too much on technology to decide how to deal with clients.
“One of the important things [to remember] is to remain human,” says Björnsjö. “We have to reinforce the human side.”
While AI can generate different ideas, it should not replace humans but should help businesses get to where they want to go.
Curtis adds businesses should know how to use ideas. “The solution is to build relationships rather than to rely on technology.” —Contributed