Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) on Monday launched its 2017 Trends Report – The Uncompromising Customer: Addressing the Paradoxes of the ‘Age of I’ – at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The report highlights the nature of today’s customer who increasingly expects brands to deliver experiences that satisfy contradictory needs.
IHG’s research identifies four paradoxes driving the decisions customers make in a landscape constantly changing through advances in technology. In this environment, customers do not want either/or solutions: they want the best of both worlds where the best trade-off is no trade-off. The four paradoxes are:
- The paradox of separate but connected: Seeking a constant belonging with people, brands and places, while also seeking individuality and the desire to communicate uniqueness of self
- The paradox of abundant rarity: A desire for luxury to be both scarce and available
- The paradox of seeking a better me and a better we: Seeking personal self-improvement, while seeking public, civic or global improvement
- Do it myself and do it for me in my way: A desire to be in control while not being the controller
According to the report, global brands must address these paradoxes by being locally relevant and personally differentiating. IHG has identified six best practices through which brands can create experiences that strengthen customer relationships and grow brand loyalty. The six best practices are:
Aim for integration rather than balance: Balancing conflicting customer needs is not enough; a better holistic experience needs to be created through the integration of these opposing needs.
Use needs-driven, occasion-based segmentation for superior business management: Segmentation is not solely a marketing tool but needs to be a core part of a company’s thinking.
Communicate with conversation: Brands must listen to customers to understand their needs and communicate with them in a way that makes the experience more meaningful to them as individuals.
Manage the brand’s multi-dimensionality: A brand must include relevant and differentiating features as well as functional, emotional and social benefits. The combination of these builds a distinctive brand character.
Develop ambidextrous brand-business teams: A brand needs teams that include divergent thinkers, with individual strengths and passions, who can also work in an integrated manner to create the cohesive initiatives that drive brand success.
Address the paradox of brand control: Businesses must not give up control of the brand to the external world, yet they must allow the consumers have their say and help influence the brand’s reputation.
The 2017 IHG Trends Report has been compiled in association with IHG’s long-time partner, Arcature, and through using its own research and observations as well as a variety of external, third-party sources.