Posing as the “North Pole Research Centre”, we asked over 3,500 kids across six countries (Australia, the U.S., Canada, Mexico, South Africa, and the U.K.) to share their top Christmas wishes.
“By taking this survey,” the questionnaire read, “you’ll help Santa and his elves ensure they make the right kinds and amounts of toys and other gifts this year.“
TOO CUTE!
Take a sneak peek at Santa’s Wishlist here >>
At the beginning of each year, thought-leaders try to identify the consumer trends they believe will define the coming year(s). Of those garnering some serious attention: Enter Generation Z. Identified as individuals born from 1997 to 2012, Generation Z are growing up and emerging as a potentially powerful consumer force.
Now is the time to start considering the attitudes and behaviours of this “next generation” from an angle with potentially enormous implications for thousands of brands and retailers:
$6.5 billion. It’s fair to say that beauty is big business in Australia. L’Oreal Australia Managing Director, Rodrigo Pizarro, was quoted in the AFR late last year, “One that’s obvious is data – everybody is looking for data so we have the right brands in the right channel in the right retailer in the right mix.” *
Want to know the data behind the dollars? Field Agent spoke to 500 Australian women who buy makeup to see what’s really going on behind the mirror. We talk all things beauty: makeup, brands, retailers, claims, spend, channels and more.
*SOURCE: https://www.afr.com/business/retail/why-the-65b-beauty-market-is-booming-its-not-just-the-lipstick-effect-20181116-h17zya
There’s no doubt about it. Today’s shopper is the connected shopper. A few taps on the phone and you can research, compare and buy almost in an instant.
So why would one go to a bricks and mortar retailer anymore? Whilst a ’digital first’ approach by retailers is obviously an important ingredient in modern retailing, many would argue that the most important asset is still non-tech. We are humans after all. And humans crave human interaction.
It’s the team member, sales assistant, store manager, customer service representative and advisor – the frontline team. And when a human experience is good, the overall perceived value of the experience skyrockets.
So how does that human experience get measured? The familiar adage “what gets measured, gets done” remains relevant to the current retail market and one of the most reliable, objective and consistent methods for measuring employee compliance to training standards today is still good old mystery shopping.
Humans connecting with humans. It’s the most valuable source of information you can get. And you can get it right here, with us.
Just ask us how.
Katie Miles, Managing Director
Millions of Aussie kids started the 2019 school year in the last month. While you may have seen a flurry of posts on social media by parents showing their smiling kids in school uniforms, we wanted to check in on the ‘behind the scenes’ action of the humble lunchbox.
Field Agent Australia surveyed parents of primary school aged kids (Grades 1-6) from around the country to get the low-down on school lunches, from planning through to shopping influences and everything in between.
This can be an overwhelming time for parents who are desperate to pack the ‘perfect lunchbox’ which is a mix of good nutrition, meeting school regulations and something the kids will actually eat! Here’s what we found out from 475 Aussie parents who are busy shopping for and packing school lunches in 2019.
Recently I switched mechanics. I didn’t have a specific issue with the old one. The cost for a standard service was average. I took my car there when I reached the required kilometre 'check up'. All in all it was a reasonably functional relationship. But I didn’t feel particularly valued. No one checked in with me after my first service, nor for any service following that. Their communication style was really impersonal, and for a while I figured that was the norm.
At my new mechanic, I already feel like a valued customer. The staff start friendly conversations with me. They seem to genuinely care about me (and my car). They remember small details about our last interaction. They ensure I'm organised for transportation to get from point A to point B whilst I'm without my car. To me, that’s valuable.
All companies should act like my new mechanic…but it’s particularly important in the world of online browsing, researching and shopping where our customers are only ever a few clicks away from joining competitors. Imagine the impact of personal recommendations or experiences when community members reach out on social media. It could make or break a business.
Ultimately though, just realising that loyalty is key to your long-term success isn’t enough. You need to understand how customer allegiance is inspired, and ensure it’s embedded in every step of your customer journey.
The key to all this? Improve customer intimacy.
Intimacy seems like an odd word to use when describing your customer relationship. Customer intimacy means moving beyond a transactional relationship, to really understand what problems your customers are trying to solve.
Customer intimacy is about respecting your customer’s value to the company in the long term, not the value of a single transaction.
Again, be more like my new mechanic and less like my old one.
Katie Miles, Managing Director
Imagine if we could get into the minds of consumers.
Imagine that we knew why consumers were choosing to shop at one retailer over another.
Imagine that we knew what were the driving elements of an in-store experience with your brand that would increase the likelihood that your customers will leave wanting to come back and shop with you again.
Imagine that we knew how we could make them so satisfied when they left your store that they would shout it from the rooftops.
Now imagine you create this experience with each and every consumer that comes into contact with your brand. Imagine how powerful that could be.
We’re talking about Net Promoter Score® (NPS). In this issue of Realise Quarterly News we touch on the ingredients that make for a solid NPS program and how this can be integral to understanding how to turn your next customer into your brand ambassador.
Imagine that.
Katie Miles, Managing Director
