Synchronizing the Company with the Individual

We continue with our ‘Words of the Day After’ series with an emphasis on: Synchronization

We are all on the front line because we are all dependent upon each other. That’s what makes us a society.

This moment could be seen as an opportunity to listen, discover or rediscover what makes us ‘us’. Citizens, customers, partners – discuss and explore new possibilities. So, how do we restart and bring value, care for the individual opinion, the brand, as well the company itself?

Under this new sky, the search for a meaning – a widely recognized fact – will play an even greater role in the purchase decision. Before Covid-19, consumers were already asking questions about the source of products, how they were made, their impacts on society and the environment, etc. Tomorrow, they will be even more aware and this will become the standard criteria.

In recent years, environmental awareness has become a cornerstone.

Let’s not be mistaken: “deconsumerism” – which means consuming less but, especially, consuming differently – is a tidal wave. It is growing, thanks to social media, which play’s a decisive role in forming individual and collective opinions. Everyone uses social media to gain information, compare and judge. The customer is also the citizen who relays news on social platforms; the young graduate who turns down a job proposal from a company whose ethics do not correspond to his own, or the employee who will only commit themselves if they adhere to the project of the company that employs them. By tackling these perspectives one by one, the individual regains power and takes control.

In this turbulent and fragmented environment, traditional strategies are no longer relevant. Price and service are no longer enough to stand out. We need to reinvent ourselves, regain control of our message and practices and to do this, the individual is the only valid point of reference. Thus, it is with the individual, in all their dimensions, that the company needs to synchronize again. It must be able to integrate concerns, uses and preferences, and it must be able to render them in a coherent manner, throughout each interaction, via product attributes and associated services, exchanges with sales staff, online and offline communication channels, etc.

For the consumer, each contact must be an experience that resonates with their aspirations and reinforces the love for their brand.

Sensitive listening and consistent responses: this is the key for the company to re-synchronize with the individual. But to do this, it needs to mobilize and coordinate in every aspect: strategy, to provide direction and cohesion. Business, to build an offer in line with demand. Physical and digital interactions for an engaging experience. And lastly, internal organisation, which needs to be restructured to focus on the customer.

The imperative to involve every dimension is reflected in the diversity of skills required to create experiences in line with the new model: engaging, consistent, meaningful and, of course, profitable. It is no longer possible to separate strategy from technology, creation from data, design from security, etc. All of these pieces must collaborate, mutually improve each other, in a fully agile and open-minded way.

My belief is that we cannot invent tomorrow with the methods of yesterday. We have enriched our business and what’s ahead is very exciting.

This article is an English adaptation of a post initially created in French.

Jerome Chavoix

Expert in Business Services

I help customers in their digital transformation with DCX and new digital platform. I manage Sales team to leverage these issues.