Analysis of emotions and data is the future

SAP Customer Experience research shows that Poles rarely forgive poor customer service. 73% of us are willing to ditch a brand if the service is companies respond to queries too slowly, almost one in two – ditch those that repeat the same mistakes constantly. Therefore, customer experience management is key for companies that want to succeed. The next step in technology development in this area is combining “hard” business data with digital analysis of feelings and emotions – emphasize SAP CX Day experts.

Consumers point out that many companies are still repeating basic failures in relations with customers. Poles surveyed by SAP Customer Experience said that the most annoying brands’ behaviour are: the excessive number of phone calls (59%) and e-mails from sellers (55%), differences in promotions between online and stationary stores (43%) and flooding of inappropriable content (42 %).

In this situation, the concept of customer journey is more and more important. There is an idea behind it, according to which a company should carefully accompany customers at every stage of their purchasing process – from searching for offers, through the purchase to after-sales service. Efficient data analytics are becoming an increasingly important element of these activities.

Today, it is not enough to contact a person, currently customers also expect empathy from us, expressed in listening to customers’ needs and remembering their preferences. Digital consumer data resembles a double-edged sword. Well used can arouse positive emotions and strengthen relationships with customers. However, if data is used on a routine basis and without the right strategy, it can alienate consumers from the company for years – says Tomasz Niebylski, Sales Support Director at SAP Polska.

Searching customer emotions

The personalized customer approach is becoming  standard for many modern companies. However, the question is what data this personalization is based on. Understanding consumer emotions is the basis without which it is difficult to build any valuable relationships. These emotions, more than rational thinking, “stimulates” us as consumers, build loyalty and positive so-called word of mouth. That is why it is so important the brand to offer not only good products and services, but also outstanding customer service and good product experience. To do this, you should not sense customers’ emotions deeply, but watch them carefully through a precise magnifying glass, being able to understand the reason for the reaction and respond accordingly – argues prof. Rafał Ohme, one of the world’s most important experts in consumer neuroscience and a special guest of SAP CX Day.

Śnieżka: on the path with the constomer

Among the biggest companies which implemented C / 4 HANA solutions are, among others, Colgate-Palmolive, Coty, Levi Strauss and Verizon Communications. Polish customers include Sun Garden – market leader in the garden equipment, Amica – one of the largest manufacturers of household appliances in Europe and Śnieżka – the largest player on the paints and varnishes market in Poland.

Implementation of  SAP C / 4 HANA package in Śnieżka was an important part of the company’s digital transformation program – called Change IT and scheduled for several years. Śnieżka says that 2018 was the record-breaking investment year for the company. Expenses for this purpose in Śnieżka were 123% higher than in 2017. Change IT was a part of this plan – the company implemented the first solutions from the SAP C / 4 HANA package to improve the management of cooperation with B2B and B2C customers and to better respond to their needs. Śnieżka had built its strategy before used IT tools. At the beginning of 2018, the company conducted a series of interviews with business clients, thanks to which it got to know their needs for digital sales support or product promotion.

For these reasons, amongst others, it was decided to engage a team of several dozen Śnieżka and SAP experts and implement the first three SAP digital solutions. The implementation included tools for sales and exchange of information with business customers, the cloud platform for customer relationship management together with Contact Center and analytic system of our B2B and B2C data in order to create more personalized offers and implementation of comprehensive electronic marketing communication for individual customer segments. Based on it, we want to introduce further activities in the field of digital transformation that will help us operate better on the entire journey of the customer – says Marek Niziołek, Director of the Digital Transformation Program at FFiL Śnieżka SA.
Amika is another example. Amika as part of its digital transformation decided to improve customer service processes because the company’s image is very important in the home equipment industry. Meanwhile, Sun Garden focused on using SAP solutions for proper selection of leads and accurate matching of products to customers- which supports the company’s international expansion.

Why it is so important to look for new customer service tools and analyse customers’ needs? The answer is in the SAP Customer Experience market research. Its results show that Polish consumers want personalisation. 61% of them personalisation understand as the receipt of tailored gifts (e.g. discounts), 44% – individually selected product recommendations, 40% – knowledge of the previous history of consumer-brand relationships. At the same time, only 19% associates personalization with additional contacts from the customer service team immediately after a purchase.
As SAP CX Day experts emphasized along with the development of technology areas in which companies will be able to build the strength of their relationships with consumers will change. The latest technological solutions show that possibilities are already huge – but their use requires a mature approach to customer service processes.