The digital economy has accelerated every brand globally, and customer expectations have never been higher. As in-person experiences remain meaningful to a brand-customer relationship, digital experiences are becoming more critical to building brand trust. But success depends on the ability of companies to deliver a trusted experience that feels personal and is responsible in approach.
Our latest Asia Pacific Digital Trust research indicates that over half of consumers would walk away from a brand forever if their trust had been broken. Also, 85% would not do business with a company if they had concerns about data security. Conversely, if trust is earned, customers will reward a brand with their wallets – nearly 54% of consumers are willing to spend between US$250 and US$500 more per year.
With the acceleration of analytics and technologies, these insights create renewed urgency for every company to transform and emerge stronger with engaging, personalised digital experiences delivered in real-time. This is particularly apparent in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), where the shift towards adopting new digital tools and technologies has allowed businesses to better understand consumer needs and address any concerns that they have to build up trust for the brand.
Here’s how businesses can keep and earn trust in the digital economy.
Prioritising data-related trust
Responsible use of data is the price of admission for earning customer trust. Consumers want brands to act now regardless of how quickly businesses move to protect customer data.
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Almost 80% of consumers in Asia Pacific (APAC) are more willing to trust a transparent company with how their data is being used and how a brand keeps them safe. To remain authentic and transparent, companies must adapt quickly to changing consumer expectations to build that trust.
This includes keeping promises and respecting consumers' data in providing an experience they value at each stage of their journey. The research found that poor personalisation also decreases consumers' trust in brands and impacts the value they receive from a company.
Developing positive digital experiences with the right architecture
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Digital experiences have become critical to connecting, engaging, learning, and doing business and are just as or, in some cases, more important than in-person experiences in building trusted relationships with customers.
Companies must embrace the digital economy's always-on reality and understand what creating an excellent digital experience takes. Selecting the right architecture for workflows, permissions and authoring models is a crucial part of the infrastructure required to support an enjoyable experience. This can include engaging social content and responsive customer service. In fact, nearly three-quarters of consumers (74%) say creative content can boost trust and show that a brand cares, and 83% say that relevant, timely content increases trust and their experience.
Leveraging intelligent automation for personalised content
Companies focusing on personalised customer experiences with meaningful content can expect to increase engagement, order value, and customer trust. To this end, technology can be used to deliver results. The report found that 72% of APAC consumers are more likely to trust brands that deploy technology-driven personalisation, much higher than the global average of 56%.
Building a robust content engine at scale cannot happen without intelligent automation. Built-in, cutting-edge intelligence allows brands to create, manage and publish rich media across every step of the personalised customer journey.
As the world moves to cookie-less, investing in a first-party data strategy, like a Real-Time Customer Data Platform (RT-CDP), is the only way for companies to get a complete view of the consumer and create a lasting, personalised connection. RT-CDP helps bring together known and anonymous data from multiple sources, helping to build customer profiles that provide real-time personalised customer experiences across all channels and devices.
As the digital economy expands and transforms in front of us, trust needs to be the first consideration for companies. More than ever, trust relies on the ability to make a positive impact, the use of responsible data, and the delivery of digital experiences on customers' terms. To be well-positioned for any industry developments, companies, especially SMEs in APAC, must be prepared to meet consumers’ growing expectations.
Duncan Egan is the vice president of Digital Experience Marketing Asia Pacific & Japan at Adobe
