In the latest edition of TheCustomer QT: Consumer expectations unexpected shifts, better metrics, the marketing talent gap, and a new series of need-to-know trends.
Happy skimming!
CULTURE
The Colorful History of Rainbow Washing
Quick-Take: Those corporate Pride floats or logos can often just be performative, sometimes they can also be hypocritical. Judd Legum with the newsletter Popular Information recently identified 25 corporations that donated a combined total of more than $10 million to politicians pushing anti-gay rights legislation.
DATA & PRIVACY
Customer Concern for Ethical Data Usage
Quick-Take: Report findings include; 69 percent of North Americans wish tech companies would better explain to them how their technologies use their data and how their business make money; 63 percent are inclined to move their buying power to organizations that respect their privacy whilst Only 18 percent of respondents feel like they have the right tools to navigate the world of data privacy.
Data Privacy and Data Governance Landscape Evolves
Quick-Take: Research uncovered that the vast majority of participants (94%) ranked data privacy compliance as a top priority for their organization. Yet nearly half (45%) aren’t concerned about regulatory fines and penalties despite a growing number of regulations and data breaches. Instead, their motivations are focused more on building trust with their customers and partners.
HOSPITALITY
Bonvoy Makes TikTok Debut
Quick-Take: “Wanderlust” has become a growing trend on TikTok over the last several months as millennials and Gen Z reminisce on pre-pandemic travel. A recent Morning Consult study shows 38% of adults who expect to travel this summer said they’ll use social media to help plan their trips, including 54% of millennials. Meanwhile, 49% of Gen Z adults and 50% of millennials follow at least one travel influencer on social media.
METRICS
Customer Success Predictions
Quick-Take: NRR could become the new ARR. Net revenue retention (NRR) has become a qualifier for funding and a key criterion for review at many board meetings. Previously, annual recurring revenue (ARR) was the focal point, but I believe investors, executives and the financial community are realizing that retaining customers and continuing to provide value to them is a more strategic measure and more accurately reflects customer and company health. Net revenue retention (NRR) is retained revenue from existing customers that takes into account expansion revenue (upgrades, cross-sells or upsells), downgraded revenue and churned revenue.
TALENT
Marketing Has a Capability Gap
Quick-Take: When multiple global enterprises do away with the CMOs role, we know it’s time to rethink the entire marketing organization. “Everything changes so fast in marketing — we’re not like doctors or lawyers where years of experience automatically equals higher performance,” says John Wall, partner at AI led analytics firm Trust Insights. The only sustainable approach lies in investing in a strategy and culture that nurtures both — skill development and leadership capabilities — in an institutionalized environment of continuous learning.
TECHNOLOGY
Why Ethical AI Won’t Catch On
Quick-Take: The research, based on a survey of 602 technology innovators, business and policy leaders, researchers and activists conducted by Pew Research Center and Elon University, showed that a majority worried that the evolution of AI by 2030 will continue to be primarily focused on optimizing profits and social control and that stakeholders will struggle to achieve a consensus about ethics. When asked whether AI systems being used by organizations will employ ethical principles focused primarily on the public good by 2030, 68% said they will not.
TRENDS
Shifts in Consumer Expectations
- 50% of survey respondents reported at least one experience they won’t return to in person after the pandemic is over, signaling a shift to digital-focused consumer behaviors.
- 41% of respondents reported convenience as the primary benefit of using digital experiences during COVID-19. Price and cost savings still played a factor, averaging 20% of respondents’ primary vote.
- Older customers were more likely than younger to choose “safer” as a primary benefit of digital experiences.
- Interest in exclusively digital experiences decreases with age, typically dropping off starting with the 45-54 age demographic. Of respondents 55 and over, 66% reported no desire to continue any type of digital experience in a post-COVID world.
Analysis Projects Flat to Declining Future Demand for Health Services
- Patients are not brand loyal, splitting where they receive care across an average of 4.2 provider brands.
- Consumer decisions are driven by psychology more than neighborhood.
- Consumer loyalty is lowest in markets where demand is increasing; and women are less loyal than men.
- Telehealth is primarily utilized for behavioral health, especially by commercially insured women between the ages of 20-49.
- Walmart has established a new price floor in primary care services, offering up to 70% cheaper visits than market peers.
Profitability Alone Isn’t Sustainable
Quick-Take: According to a 2020 study by Edelman on brand trust, 80% of people want brands to solve society’s problems. Which is just slightly less than the 85% that said they want brands to solve their personal problems. That’s really an astonishing margin.
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Photo by Paddle North on Unsplash
