R-Commerce and the importance of customer psychology
The principle of relationship commerce (r-commerce) represents a significant shift in the way digital customer relationships and customer loyalty are handled. In contrast to conventional e-commerce, r-commerce actually focuses on people's individual needs and wishes rather than purely on sales figures.
At first glance, the relationship commerce approach appears to be altruistic. On closer inspection, the principle of r-commerce reveals itself to be a highly effective business strategy. However, it requires intensive engagement with customer data and the underlying needs. In addition, stricter legal requirements and an increasing reluctance on the part of customers to share their data require a fundamental reorientation of thinking. How can a personalized, needs-oriented customer approach be implemented under these conditions?
The evolution of R-Commerce
The essence of r-commerce lies in building sustainable, in-depth relationships with customers. It is about not only recognizing the wishes and concerns of customers, but also understanding them as a central component of the company-wide strategy. By responding to customer needs directly and in real time, companies create a closer connection between brand and buyer based on mutual trust and understanding. R-Commerce extends the focus beyond pure data and technology and incorporates psychological factors to understand customer needs more deeply and develop effective, non-manipulative activation strategies. It is essential to recognize that customers are individual and want to be addressed personally.
From data to relationships
R-Commerce builds on the findings of behavioral economics, which sheds light on how customers make decisions. Many decisions are made unconsciously, based on recurring behavioral patterns. These patterns are highly context-dependent. For example, the needs of a person who comes from a bargain blog differ from those of someone who has just watched a moving movie. Contextual advertising that takes into account the user's current situation and environment is often more effective than purely behaviour-based personalization strategies. This is because needs and behaviors are dynamic and cannot be attached to customer profiles as fixed attributes.
The dynamics of customer behavior: between intuition and context dependency
Behavioral science findings underline that building long-term relationships based on trust is much more effective. Trust reduces the feeling of being "taken for a fool" and lowers stress, which in turn leads to more intuitive decisions and greater openness to relationships. Every day, people make around 20,000 decisions, only a few of which they remember. Many of these decisions are made intuitively, based on deep-rooted behavioral patterns, which challenges the assumption of pure rationality in human decision-making.
Surprisingly, people tend to make more intuitive decisions with less knowledge and less decision-making competence. This apparent illogicality explains why people simplify complex decision-making processes in such situations, relying on social signals such as "Will others buy this too?" instead of focusing on whether they really need the product. Back to the core of relationship commerce: customers are not treated as passive recipients of marketing messages, but as active participants whose trust and loyalty must be won. This requires not only attention to the situation and environment of those being addressed, but also a deep understanding of the psychological factors that influence purchasing decisions, such as emotions and personal beliefs. Companies that build a positive emotional connection and show empathy can not only understand customers better, but also create long-lasting, trusting relationships that go beyond the mere exchange of products and money.
Intuitive decisions and the role of the brand in customer trust
In order to establish trust, the strength of a brand is of great importance. A convincing brand has a positive influence on the relationship of trust and is reflected in various interactions, such as higher approval rates for opening a customer account or interaction with advertising materials. A strong brand also promotes customer loyalty. In contrast, a weak brand makes it more difficult to build trust and reduces customer loyalty. Today's buyers expect brand owners to be actively involved in solving global challenges and building a brand identity based on their needs.
Brand strength as a foundation for building trust
In view of the increasing skepticism towards brands, as recent studies by the Havas Group and Serviceplan show, it is essential for companies to restore their brand trust. This requires positioning the brand as a trustworthy, meaningful point of reference. Authenticity, empathy and a needs-based approach play a crucial role here. In uncertain times, the importance of brands that offer security and meaning becomes greater. Brands that offer their customers real added value and position themselves as meaningful can be successful in such times.
Brand engagement in global challenges
Today, people expect brands to play an active role in tackling global issues. A strong brand identity that understands and prioritizes the needs of shoppers is becoming increasingly essential. Brands that offer real value to their customers and prove to be value-creating can triumph even in uncertain times and cement the trust of their customers.
Realignment for stable customer relationships
The development of the advertising industry in recent years, particularly through behavioral advertising, has improved customer acquisition and conversion rates. However, in the era of the "cookieocalypse", the question arises as to the sustainability of these methods. The advertising industry and advertisers need to rethink their strategies and move from purely data-based methods to a holistic approach. This approach should integrate insights from behavioral economics, use modern data strategies, take into account the social and legal framework and establish an authentic connection with customers. An integrative model that takes all aspects into account and focuses on the needs of existing customers is necessary.
Practical example: Successful customer journey design in the telecommunications sector
An example of the successful application of R-Commerce can be seen in a use case from the telecommunications industry. By combining data-driven marketing, behavioral design and suitable technical infrastructure, the company achieved significant increases in conversion rates in the cross-selling area. This was made possible by a holistic customer journey design that ranged from the initial approach to existing customers through to abandonment in the shopping cart. Particular emphasis was placed on designing marketing activities in a synchronized and customer-specific manner rather than in isolation. With the help of a data-based scoring model, customers with a high affinity for specific products were identified and a targeted, personalized customer approach was designed across various purchase phases. This approach led to high single-digit conversion rates and a significant increase in the customer lifetime value of the customer group in question.
Key factors for brand loyalty
The highest praise for marketers is when customers make a conscious and convinced decision in favor of their brand, even when considering other options. This kind of loyalty and trust must be constantly nurtured, as customer relationships are fragile and take both time and care to build.
Three main elements are crucial to the success of such relationships: trust, brand strength and fairness. Trust must be built over the long term and strengthened through communication. Brands serve as an accelerator in building relationships by making it easier for customers to assess risk. Fairness requires a balance between give and take.
New perspectives on customers
A fresh look at customers helps companies to develop convincing arguments for a lasting relationship. This includes identifying customers early on to understand their behaviors and preferences to create a brand experience that deepens the relationship in the long term.
Neuromarketing study
How the term "sustainability" influences purchasing decisions
Sustainability is undoubtedly the key issue of our time, extending far beyond the retail and food industries. However, it can often be difficult for consumers to distinguish between products that are actually sustainable and those that only appear to be. One of the reasons for this is that we often decide on a product or service in milliseconds - influenced by its appearance, packaging and communication. So the question is: how can we design sustainable offers in such a way that they are intuitively perceived as sustainable?
The management consultancy Zutt & Partner, which specializes in neuromarketing, has examined various design and communication aspects relating to sustainability using different products and labels from various industries and found that the targeted use of design elements and wording can have a significant impact on the perception of sustainability. The study reveals the following three key findings:
- With the right labels and materials, the sustainability impact of a product or service can be enhanced the most. Text information such as "Made from 100% recycled PET" is often overlooked as the brain processes visual elements faster than text. Therefore, it is most effective to work with strong, meaningful labels and sustainable materials.
- The attributes "natural" (in particular), "organic" and "fair" are emotionally close to sustainability and are therefore particularly suitable as labels.
- Sustainability and health (independently and non-verbally surveyed) are demonstrably close to each other emotionally - this is the reason why sustainable products are often perceived as healthier.
These study results are not only relevant for the retail and consumer goods industries. Sustainability is increasingly permeating all sectors. Companies in all sectors should therefore make their sustainable products truly recognizable as sustainable for customers, according to the study's final recommendation.
Author
Dr. Philipp Spreer is Behavioral Strategist & Managing Partner at the digital consultancy elaboratum GmbH. The Munich-based company with more than 80 employees and additional locations in Hamburg, Cologne, Zurich and Bern supports companies from the creation of a design and a concept through to its realization.
