{"id":3359,"date":"2017-01-31T16:28:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T16:28:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=3359"},"modified":"2023-10-18T17:35:51","modified_gmt":"2023-10-18T17:35:51","slug":"connected-customers-wants-needs-2017-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/ca\/blog\/connected-customers-wants-needs-2017-2\/","title":{"rendered":"New Data: The Connected Customer’s Wants and Needs in 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As a marketer trying to stay ahead of the curve, keeping up with changing technology and trends may feel like running a career-long marathon at a sprinter\u2019s pace. From newspaper ads and direct mailers to email and social media and now onto location-based marketing, the Internet of Things (IoT)<\/a>, and artificial intelligence (A.I.), it\u2019s a lot. Especially with growing customer expectations of immediate, personalized touch points.<\/p>\n

Before you get overwhelmed, meet Vala Afshar<\/a>. He\u2019s the author of The Pursuit of Social Business Excellence<\/i> and the Chief Digital Evangelist at Salesforce. He knows marketers are up to the task of adapting to the Connected Customer, and he\u2019s compiled data to help.<\/p>\n

On a recent episode of the Marketing Cloudcast, he discussed the results of The State of the Connected Customer<\/a> research report. You can find the podcast here<\/a>, or if you are short on time we have summarized the talk below.<\/p>\n

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Customer Relationships<\/h3>\n

The State of the Connected Customers report shows several notable trends. One of them is how customers expect brands to interact with them. \u201cCustomers expect every touchpoint with companies to be immediate, to be personalized, and to be proactive,\u201d Afshar says. \u201cIn fact, 65 per cent of consumers expect companies to interact with them in real time.\u201d<\/p>\n

These interactions must be both sophisticated and timely. Customers are more willing than ever to take their business elsewhere if your brand isn\u2019t on board. The good news is that in exchange for such targeted interactions, consumers are happy to share personal information with brands they\u2019re interested in.<\/p>\n

Marketers Have an Opportunity<\/h3>\n

How can marketers take advantage of consumer desires? By leveraging data and being proactive with content. However, many marketers aren\u2019t doing that: A nominal 15 per cent of companies have invested in advanced analytics, processes, and tools to engage in a digital economy. As Afshar points out, that means \u201cthere\u2019s 85 per cent room for businesses to understand and leverage technology to improve and delight customer experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

This could explain why many marketers pass too many unqualified leads on to their sales teams. According to a separate, Salesforce-sponsored Harvard Business Review study<\/a>, more than half of marketers pass unqualified leads to sales, which burdens sales with unnecessary task of sorting through leads that won\u2019t convert. \u201cIt\u2019s the job a good marketer should do,\u201d says Afshar.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe top two critical success factors to achieve advanced capabilities are firstly analytical skills, talent, and tools,\u201d says Afshar. \u201cThe second is alignment within the lines of business in an organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the powerful analytical tools<\/a> and data available today, a marketer\u2019s role is to anticipate the needs of consumers, then use the different lines of business to fulfil them with meaningful engagements, whether that\u2019s sales, service, or marketing. \u201cYou don\u2019t know someone until you know what they need,\u201d Afshar explains.<\/p>\n

Social Media<\/h3>\n

Just last year, social media overtook search as the number one source of traffic for businesses. The Connected Consumer Report shows that users average one-fifth of their time online using social networking, and the younger your audience is, the higher that percentage, capping off at around 90 per cent of time spent online for teens and young adults.<\/p>\n

But this is news to many marketers. \u201cI don\u2019t think the majority of marketers have absorbed the fact that social networking is the number one use of the web,\u201d Afshar says.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just a matter of reaching your customers on social networks. It\u2019s also about listening to what they have to say about you. As Afshar puts it, \u201cYour brand is what people say about you when you\u2019re not in the room. The web is the room.\u201d<\/p>\n

The best marketing teams hone their social listening skills<\/a> and identify the right time to deliver the right message, much like a publisher. \u201cWhen you realize there\u2019s a moment to educate, inspire, and ignite action,\u201d Afshar says, \u201cyou have to have access to that content so you can deliver across the right channel, at the right time, to the right audience, with the right value proposition.”<\/p>\n

Not Mobile-First, but Mobile-Only<\/h3>\n

Users now spend more time on mobile than on desktops. That means marketers need to respond in a way that delivers what mobile does best: instant gratification. \u201cThe connected customer feels that there shouldn\u2019t be any lag time when it comes to communicating with a company,\u201d says Afshar. \u201cIn fact, 80 per cent of consumers and business buyers revealed that a company responding immediately influences their loyalty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many marketers aren\u2019t fully harnessing the power of mobile yet. Only eight per cent of B2B sales organizations and 13 per cent of B2B sales teams have the ability to provide outstanding mobile sales.<\/p>\n

As Afshar puts it, \u201cBy 2020, 6 billion people will have a supercomputer in their pocket, on their wrist, or on their face with the next generation of Glass. As digital marketers, we have to consider not a mobile-first, but a mobile-only, ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Converging Departments<\/h3>\n

Our recommendation: more integration between marketing, sales, and customer service. For B2B companies especially, the majority (a whopping 70 per cent) of all customer touchpoints come through customer service. In truth, your service team is<\/i> your brand. They help deliver what marketing and sales promise.<\/p>\n

These days, customer care is more complex than ever because the customer now owns the conversation. \u201cFor you to earn their attention, you have to be informed, available, trustworthy, and proactive,\u201d Afshar says. \u201cThat\u2019s a team sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

He encourages companies to converge their marketing, sales, IT, and community in order to achieve a 360-degree view of the customer, so that in moments of truth, your company as a whole can interact with the customer proactively and intelligently.<\/p>\n

Want more insights for marketing in 2017 from Vala Afshar? Listen to the entire <\/a>Marketing Cloudcast <\/a>episode.<\/a><\/p>\n

Connect with your customers in a whole new way with Salesforce Marketing Cloud. To see a quick overview of our marketing automation platform, follow the link below.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Share “New Data: The Connected Customer’s Wants and Needs in 2017” On Your Site<\/h3>\n