How big data and technology are shaping the consumer landscape
Li Hong says companies must embrace the changing interaction between brand and buyer
In today's fiercely competitive world, sellers of products or services face one common problem: the old ways of grouping people along broad socio-demographic and class-based lines have ceased to aptly describe the modern consumer, especially in terms of their relationship with a brand.
Why? Because digital technology and "big data" are changing the way we look at the world today. They are changing the way consumers comprehend brands, increasingly through multiple channels and in multiple ways. This, subsequently, is changing the way consumers interact with a brand, and the way they share their experiences.
The use of big data for analysing Chinese consumer habits has gathered pace rapidly, after a slow start
The relationship between business and consumers, whether with regard to consumer or luxury goods, electronics or cars, has changed forever. Even the technical bedrocks that have underpinned the business world for decades are changing.
Sampling of one demographic to gain insights into a particular brand often takes a long time and, in today's world, can mean significantly less than before. This is because those surveyed are influenced by fragments of information from ever more fragmented channels. Individuals now consume a daily diet of text, image, video and many other formats that appeal to them.
Many companies realise things are changing, yet are afraid to bet big on a future they don't fully understand.
Underscoring this is how the digital world is morphing into something that demands continuous attention, connection and feedback, anytime, anywhere and on any given subject.