COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the way customers think, feel, behave and interact with brands. Back in the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak, digital channel usage shot up in the face of store closure and the risk of human-to-human transmission. This was large scale behavioural change. With so many customers experiencing new ways of being and behaving, we may never return to the former status quo.
Businesses are grappling with this sea change. During the early outbreak, many were forced to manage extraordinary operational pressures, optimise their resilience and manage risk. Now they are turning to face the uniquely complex challenge of understanding the ‘New Customer’ and adapting their business to the post lockdown world.
Now more than ever, there is an imperative for businesses to have clear sight of, and fully understand their Customer. To achieve this, businesses have a critical need for an effective insight system. In our publication, ‘Ignite Growth – Connecting insight to action’, we describe in detail the features and benefits of such a system.
The ideal insight system is one that captures customer data, connects different data sources, prioritises areas of focus, engages stakeholders and drives action. And all this at fast pace to deal with the fluid and constantly changing environment. Let’s look at each of these in turn: