This is a short Salesforce video (hosted by Brian Tong) summarizing findings from Salesforce’s State of the Connected Customer Report (survey of ~17,000 consumers and business buyers across 29 countries, surveyed through Feb 2022). It highlights that digital engagement has accelerated since the pandemic, customers use many channels (avg. 9) and expect consistent cross-department interactions, that online/offline experiences are blending (curbside pickup, contactless payments), and that trust and transparent data usage are critical.
Questions this video answers
About 17,000 consumers and business buyers in 29 countries.
The survey ran through February 2022.
9 channels (on average).
68%.
85% (up from 76% in 2020).
Chapters
What's up everybody? Brian Tong here and almost all of you who are watching this video right now, you're watching somewhere on a digital device. And I say almost all because I'm sure someone out there has like this cool gadget that is light years ahead of the rest of us. But the point is, a majority of content you watch is all being streamed to you digitally. And the majority of the transactions you're making, from buying products to online banking or just reaching out to friends, is all digital. So. So let's be honest, the pandemic, it's sped up companies digital transformation. And when it comes to what customers expect, there's no turning back. And that's what we're here to talk about, what customers want and expect from companies in a digital first world. And this isn't something that I just like pulled out of thin air and made up. No. This is based on data from the latest edition of Salesforce's State of the Connected Customer Report. Not familiar with the report? Hey, no worries. It's basically a massive collection of insights from around 17,000 consumers and business buyers in 29 different countries. The survey ran through February 2022. So the data here is really fresh and if you want to check it out for free, you can click the info card popping up on the screen right now. There's tons in there and I'm not going to cover it all here. And while you're at it, make sure to subscribe to this channel and turn on your notifications so you won't miss all the good stuff that we're breaking down for you in more videos just like this. Okay, now let's get back to what we're here to talk about, what customers want and expect from companies in this new digital landscape. This. Now the pandemic forced companies to innovate to make it possible for us to engage with them remotely. And now customers are used to it. So it's not surprising that in 2020, when so much of the world shut down, over half of customer engagements took place online. But what is interesting is that the share taking place online has actually increased since then. And so far it is showing no signs of slowing down. Digital customer engagement, like shopping on social media, customer service via Twitter, and even marketing offers through voice assistance has exploded. Interactions happen on a ton of different channels. Email, online chat, video chat, mobile app, and so much more. In fact, it turns out customers use an average of 9 channels to talk to companies. So of course, which channel customers end up using depends on both personal preference and surrounding context. For me, sometimes I'll use the customer service chat for small questions if it's a return issue. Hey, I'm just sending an email to customer service because it's easier for me. But I tend to engage with companies knowing what method will resolve my issue the fastest. And sometimes that's doing the old call on the mobile phone. Yeah, I still call people and you should try it sometime. But many of customers preferred channels are digital and as more of Gen Z comes of age and their influence in the market continues to grow, I don't think that digital trend is going to change. But still, brands that over pivot risk alienating a huge part of their customer base. Baby boomers who have the greatest buying power of any age group mostly prefer offline channels, it turns out. So right now, brands may be feeling a lot of pressure to be everywhere at once, both online and offline, and to be responsive and consistent. Speaking of emerging digital trends, you know, there's a lot of buzz right now around the Metaverse and how it could revolutionize many aspects of our world and including customer engagement. Now, we don't know the true impact of that technology yet, but instances of online and offline merging are already cropping up. 68% of customers say they've purchased products in new ways over the past two years. And in many of these methods, we are seeing offline and online all blur together in this blending of two worlds. We're talking here about arrangements like curbside pickup, contactless payments or buy online pay in store. This these span digital and physical touch points and their use is expected to grow, not slow down, as the world returns to a semblance of normal over the coming years. And I don't know about you, but in 2022 I'm using food delivery apps more than ever and I'm just used to that convenience. You know, it's critical for companies to invest in this new reality where online and offline interactions are seamlessly connected, really, where every touch point is connected, whether it's an interaction with sales reps, marketing materials or service agents. Because customers are willing to abandon brands that fail to deliver and their expectations, they keep climbing. For instance, 85% of customers expect consistent interactions across departments. That's up from 76% in 2020 when Salesforce asked the same question. So a lot's changing in this digital first world. Since data is the foundation of digital engagement trust between customers and businesses and is critical to make it all work. Salesforce's research shows most customers are comfortable with companies using relevant personal info to improve their experiences. We're now at 61% of customers, up from 52% in 2020, a number that's growing as customers spend more and more time online. So to keep trust levels high, it falls on companies to be honest, clear and transparent, providing experiences customers choose to opt into. Now we know no one likes spam. I don't. You don't. The days of companies playing fast and loose with customer data, we can all be glad they are over. So hey, that's your 5ish minute overview of what customers want and expect from companies in a digital first world. There are just so many things that you can pull from Salesforce's State of the Connected Customer report that you can go to right here and just dig in deeper for yourself by clicking the link on screen. Plus, we made it look super spiffy. I mean, come on, it's real nice. And don't forget to subscribe to the channel and turn on your notifications to get the latest videos from Salesforce when they drop. Thanks so much for watching and I'll see you next time.
