Every day, the goal of successful companies is to become more relevant in their various industries. However, only a few become hyper-relevant. This is important because of the ongoing digital transformations and the fact that digital consumers are in control. Companies, therefore, need to become hyper-relevant if they want to stand the test of the times we live in.
In addition to the truth that consumers choose hyper-relevant companies, these companies also tend to grow their returns on investments (ROI) in products, services, and customer experiences. This is because they continually improve their approach in order to keep pace with the ever-changing circumstances surrounding their consumer’s lives and market.
To become hyper-relevant, companies need to do these things:
Get Relevant Data about their Customers
Companies need to have a deep understanding of each individual customers’ motivations for purchase. To do this, they need to shift their focus away from traditional data gathered from website visits, social media posts or previous purchasing histories. These are no longer sufficient for becoming more relevant. Relevant data are information that is much more personal e.g. realtime health data transmitted via wearable biometric technologies.
These relevant data are available and customers are no longer surprised by companies’ interest in their lives. They are willing to share these data with companies if they are certain of (or trust in) getting value in return. According to the Accenture Strategy 2017 Global Consumer Pulse Research, about one-third of consumers surveyed expect the companies with which they engage to know more about them. Also, according to the Accenture, Digital Trust in the IoT Era, 2015 report, two-thirds are willing to share personal information with companies. Things become disastrous if the value exchange is broken.
Earn Trust Continually
Trust must be a key consideration for companies that want to become hyper-relevant. A company’s commitment to delivering the experiences that were promised and meeting customers’ expectations is paramount. Hyper-relevant companies understand their baseline level of trust and eliminate issues or irrelevant offers that detract from the trust quotient. They make trust sustainable by establishing a rigorous process and a robust, cross-functional governance structure to continuously measure trust and hyper-relevant effectiveness—and act on their findings. Most importantly, they manage trust as the critical growth enabler it is.
Trust their Customers
As customers trust the companies, companies also need to trust their customers. However, digital transformation can erode this trust as the number of interactions companies have with customers goes up, as machines and as digital assistants play a larger role in capturing data and delivering services. To stay hyper-relevant, companies should start taking preventive actions by updating their data privacy and security practices. Companies must constantly present themselves as trustworthy, keeping their promises and upholding their end of the value exchange agreement.
Look beyond Traditional Customer Journey
Companies should identify and prioritize those areas in their customer journey where hyper-relevance can deliver added value and quickly address the unexpected. For example, companies in the airline industry can identify what they can offer once a customer has missed his/her flight. Traditionally, in situations like this, some airlines take care of booking the customer through to his/her final destination. However, customers need different things. Companies need to be able to identify what each individual customer want. Here, relevance becomes supremely important.
Rethink Data
In addition to getting relevant data, companies also need to rethink data in order to get better perspectives. Rather than relying only on descriptive data analytics, relevant companies are moving towards predictive data analytics. Rather than relying only on what companies think, they should also collaborate the stakeholders to be able to get and mine real-time data about every consumer. In addition, companies should redouble their data security efforts by ensuring customers have full control of their data across touchpoints. They should eliminate duplicate requests for customer information and permissions. They should also make sure all customer data is secure and visible to employees on a need-to-know basis.
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The main ideas for this article were derived from Accenture Strategy’s “Put Your Trust in Hyper-Relevance”
