One of those forces is technology. The other, which defines the 21st century consumer, is a growing consumer expectation of more personal service. And the only way you're going to find out what your customers want is through intelligent market research, says Andrea Rademeyer, CEO of local evidence-based consultants Ask Afrika.
"Today's consumers are becoming more demanding and vocal, and expect companies to meet their needs," Rademeyer says. "And here's the bottom line: they will use their wallets to vote for the winners."
Information gained through market research isn't just 'nice to know'. It can guide a company's most important strategic business decisions - which part of a company's brand needs to be developed? Who should the company focus on for brand strategy? What pushes the brand strength of a company?
More importantly, says Rademeyer, market research guides an organisation's communication with current and potential customers.
"Does making purchases from this store meet a functional need or an emotional need? Once you have good research, you should be able to formulate more effective and targeted marketing campaigns that speak directly to the people you're trying to reach in a way that interests them," adds Rademeyer.
The notion of service dominating brand equity and corporate reputation is relatively new, and remains unexploited by South African business. In a marketplace where service is morphing into a differentiating factor and competitive strategy in its own right, companies need to reappraise the impact that good market research can have on their strategies going forward.
Cynics suggest that market research is most effective when the returns outweigh the investment. Ask Afrika estimates that service contributes between 50-80% towards brand loyalty - so if you spend R100 000 on market research activities that yields information leading to a revenue increase of R150 000, the research was well worth it!
You'll have the opportunity to offer a new product or service (or alter your existing product or service) to meet the need and gain new revenues.
What the emphasis on service means, says Rademeyer, is that organisations actually need to employ staff to meet the specific demands of the client. The corporate culture in a business should be a close fit with the client's expectations.
"For companies to be successful in the coming years, they must move toward an integrated customer approach that combines elements like customer lifecycle marketing and comprehensive customer development processes. Identifying the myriad of factors influencing loyalty, using the appropriate tools to evaluate those factors and knowing how to implement research results are essential to developing satisfied, loyal - and most importantly - profitable customers," concludes Rademeyer.
