Published on Dec 29, 2021 8:00:00 AM
You no longer have to own a product to have a valuable opinion about it.
Avik talks about how brands need to shift the focus from customer satisfaction to consumer promotion in the years to come.
At the turn of the millennium, “customer satisfaction” was the greatest thing that moved all car marketers. That was the gold standard for comparing brands on aspects such as service quality, sales quality and build quality. Measures like JD Power may not deserve a place in the minds of customers, but they definitely helped automakers improve service standards and vehicle quality.
Twenty years later, the standards and measures will change due to the further development of decision-making and purchasing behavior.
The main pillars of this standard are “who” is measured and “what” is measured. They used to be “customer” and “satisfaction”. For the next 20 years they will be “consumers” and “advocates”.
Consumer versus customer
Yesterday you had to own a product to have an opinion on it. Tomorrow, opinion will be a result of other factors such as word of mouth, ratings, and content created around a brand and its offerings. Yesterday it was about buying a product in order to know about it. Tomorrow is about consuming it in order to have an opinion. Yesterday it was about the product. Tomorrow is about the solution. Yesterday it was about a buyer or customer. Tomorrow is about the consumer.
Ownership Experience
Yesterday, the aspects measured were directly related to the buying process or ownership. Unless you have actually bought and / or serviced a vehicle, your opinion does not matter. Tomorrow your experiences will be measured without forcing you to buy a product. Your experiences like test drives, shared mobility, and even vehicle presentations will determine what you think of a car brand. Yesterday it was about your own vehicle. Tomorrow will be one in your family or network.
Representation of interests versus satisfaction
Yesterday you asked a customer how satisfied they were. The feedback forms contained “smileys” of varying strengths to express your feedback. Satisfaction today is a table game without which a brand cannot survive. Tomorrow will be about becoming an active advocate for a particular brand and putting your reputation on the line. Yesterday’s feedback contained several questions on various aspects of satisfaction. Tomorrow it would be just a question: “Are you going to recommend this brand to your closest friends?”
Brands are first experienced and then, if at all, owned. Trademark advocacy will not only be the result of products and solutions, but also the ecosystem around them for both prospects and owners.
Yesterday was all about customer satisfaction. Tomorrow’s success will be measured by consumer advocacy, and the auto marketer must prepare for it today.
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