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Digital disruption has changed the way of human life. In the last year, India has gone through massive changes that have impacted consumer behavior in a big way. Data explosion by telecom operators, mobile payment becoming way of life post-demonetization, online retailers pushing various buttons to increase the share of the pie, and offline retailers implementing omni-channel strategies and working on providing the same experience across channels. This is supplemented by the Government of India’s push towards the Digital India initiative. Brands are challenged to innovate and start reinventing things to deliver something so exceptional to their consumer, that it converts them into a repeat consumer of that specific product or service.
The Hyperconnected Consumers: Today, in India, they constitute 10 percent of the Internet population. Earmarked to be the trendsetters of tomorrow, they form a very key and important consumer segment targeted by marketers. For this very reason, we launched an in-depth study to explore the attitudes and behavior of the fast emerging Hyperconnected Consumers in India. The much-anticipated findings were unveiled at an exclusive event “Discover the Hyperconnected Consumer in India” on September 7.
Data is the new oil
The event’s opening keynote presentation on Imagining Consumerism with Digital India delivered by Mr. Arvind Gupta, Head of Digital India Foundation and IT, BJP was very well received. He highlighted that the advent of Digital India has transformed markets and consumers, bringing new possibilities and opportunities for businesses to thrive. His memorable closing lines which left a deep impression, were probably one of the key event takeaways: “Data is the new oil, and India is the biggest producer of this oil. People who are better at mining, refining, and using this data will be the leaders of the future!”
A few of the greatest drivers catering to India’s rapid digitalization are government initiatives such as Digital India and Make in India. What started as small movements are now touching everyone’s heart and leading to massive employment generation. Not only have they provided local brands with amazing opportunities to enhance themselves, but they have also enabled them to serve incredible products and excellent services to the Hyperconnected Consumers in today’s era.
The event also brilliantly highlighted the importance of social media platforms and had two panels of experts carrying on discussions around The Hyperconnected Consumers in India. During the first session on Targeting Hyperconnected Consumers in the New Media Norm, high profile media industry leaders shared their own experiences on the challenges and opportunities arising from the new media landscape, and were in agreement that consumption of digital content does not differ much from mainstream television. But yet, today’s distracting world coupled with the Hyperconnected Consumers’ shorter attention span are factors making it more challenging than ever for marketers to effectively target and engage this emerging segment of the market. Sunil Lulla of Grey Group India did a fantastic job moderating the lively exchange between Gayatri Yadav (President & Head, Consumer Strategy & Innovation, Star Media), Achint Setia (Head, Business Development & Data Sciences, Viacom18 Media), Sameer Pitalwalla (CEO and Co-Founder, Culture Machine), and Lee Risk (Commercial Director, Media, GfK Asia).
Strengthening relationships with customers using digital tools
Furthermore, today’s demanding consumer wants more than just good value and it is essential for brands to continuously strengthen their relationship with their customers. The best way to deal with the digitally-connected consumers is to deliver them digital solutions by utilizing digital tools; social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and others are already doing wonders in our lives. The simpler and more innovative a brand becomes, the better and smoother it is for them to win over customers.
Dr. Fabian Buber from GfK Verein, in his presentation on Exploring the Digital Generation's mindset, highlighted that today’s markets have become more transparent than they have ever been before. In today’s digital age, companies have lost the power to fully create their own brand image as they like to the Hyperconnected Consumers, who often contribute as a co-creator by sharing their experiences as customers online.
Hyperconnected Consumers changing the business model
The other renowned personalities present during the event also talked about the game-changing business models that are a huge success in today’s changing scenario. The second forum had market veterans sharing their strategies on how differently they are Marketing to the Hyperconnected Consumers in their respective business. Rahul Singh (CEO and Founder) from The Beer Café and Arvind Vohra (Executive Director) from Gionee India revealed the ingenious ways they are collecting, mining and using data from their consumers to create personalized offerings for them. Facilitated by Anup Jain from GfK India, the session also drew constructive inputs from Pascal Bollon (Managing Director, GfK India). Anup Jain raised a question on the need to create marketing teams that focus purely on Hyperconnected Consumers.
Studying Hyperconnected Consumers provides an in-depth view into the consumers of tomorrow, given the fact that they are early adopters and trend setters. The study examines how this tech-savvy group engages digital channels on a daily basis and what businesses should do to cater to the needs and wants of this unique segment of the Indian population. Connecting, engaging and retaining the Hyperconnected Consumer is a big opportunity for marketers and also an equal challenge that the path to purchase is no more linear and has become extremely fragmented in the digital age.
It was indeed an enlightening and insightful event, which received much positive feedback from those who were present. On behalf of GfK India, I would like to thank the esteemed speakers and guests for taking time off to grace this event, as well as the rest, both within and outside GfK whose concerted efforts helped make this event successful!
If you have any questions on The Hyperconnected Consumers study, please feel free to contact us at: apac@gfk.com.