Three revealing questions we asked Chinese Marketers that we could all learn from
This week was Single’s Day — 11/11 — an unrivalled shopping holiday popular amongst Chinese consumers — and a day when marketers all over the world look to China to learn and be inspired by brand experiences that deliver staggering sales results.
Alibaba had estimated 500 hundred million shoppers to take part in Single’s Day this year, and in just the first 68 seconds of the 2019 festival, records began to break. Campaign confirmed Alipay racked up $USD 1 billion in GMV (gross market value) in just over one minute — then $USD10 billion in GMV in the 30 minutes after midnight.
With records breaking year-on-year, there has been no better time to look to Chinese marketers to navigate the growth of the digital economy, rise in customer expectations, technological advances, and define customer experience as a point of meaningful differentiation for brands.
We asked 100 Chinese Marketers in Isobar’s CX Survey, a Global survey of 1,000 CMOs and senior-level marketers in ten key markets on customer experience, to reveal the priorities of Chinese Marketers today and their plans for the future.
Here are three revealing questions we asked Chinese Marketers, that outline that CMOs are investing in creativity and technology as a critical part of their plan to enhance their customer experience. Chinese marketers are leveraging innovation and new technologies for differentiation, ecommerce for scale, but also investing in creating emotive stories to build brand loyalty and generate sales.
- What does good customer experience actually mean in China?
When we asked Chinese marketers what ‘good customer experience’ means to them, their answers were strikingly different from the other markets we asked.
(1) 75% of Chinese respondents said that a product or service that delivers consistently is the definition of good customer experience
(2) 71% said that brand loyalty is the definition of good customer experience
(3) 67% said that a good customer experience means an emotional connection with your brand (compared to an average of 44%)
Why might this be? Is this solely a result of the unusual Chinese market context (a large number of counterfeit goods exacerbated by extremely high competition) or could Western brands learn a thing or two about Chinese marketers commitment to Customer Loyalty through a keen interest in Customer Experience?
In order for brands to capture the attention of Chinese consumers, marketers must go to market with a strategy reflecting these ambitions. The measurements of these key categories are significantly valued in China, compared to other markets, where the average importance is nearly 20% lower.
2. How important Is consumer experience in driving commerce?
Chinese marketers prioritise four key areas where they look to CX to boost commerce sales.
(1) Clarity and information around a product or service
95% of Chinese marketers said that the most important element of CX in driving Commerce is the clarity and information around a product or service.
(2) Delivery times, options and costs
The second most important factor for Chinese marketers as agreed by 94% is clarity around delivery times, options and costs.
(3) Payment options and methods
91% of Chinese marketers feel payment options and methods are a key consideration with the inclusion of marketplaces and social platforms.
(4) Value exchange around brand memberships and loyalty
92% from Chinese marketers prioritise brand memberships and loyalty when writing their commerce and CX strategies
In addition to consumer experience, with data on emerging technologies across markets, we can see how Chinese brands are utilising technology — what specific technologies they are using ahead of other markets, and where their focus lies on the technologies that they anticipate using. With this insight, brands may consider altering or heightening certain technologies, should they be interested in entering into the Chinese digital landscape, or if they are eager to get ahead of the curve in their regional markets.
3. How emerging is ‘emerging technologies’?
Chinese consumers are assumed to be early adopters of new technologies which was reflected in the data — 58% of Chinese marketers said that they are already using Voice Interfaces (VI) to deliver better customer experiences, and 34% anticipate using it in the future — more than any other market.
29% Chinese Marketers said that they are already using AR and 53% expect to use it in the future, versus 30% and 60% for VR respectively. Chinese Marketers are preparing for a virtual future with more Chinese marketers preparing to use the technology than any other market.
In order to keep up with the use of emerging technology across the globe, marketers outside of China should consider the use of technology within their marketing strategies to leverage new opportunities and widen their consumer base.
