New Consumer Capabilities Social media is an explosive worldwide phenomenon. In Germany, the percentage of consumers over 65 accessing the Internet increased from 24 percent to 33 percent from 2011 to 2012; most belonged to a social media service. The number of Germans browsing the Web wirelessly increased to 29 million in 2012 and was expected to hit 60 million in 2016. More than 10 percent of Germans were using tablets to access the Internet in 2012. Almost twothirds of German companies surveyed in 2012 reported positive payback to their social media activities (Facebook, Twitter, social media newsrooms, customer feedback communities).Empowerment is not just about technology, though. Consumers are willing to move to another brand if they think they are not being treated right or do not like what they are seeing, as Progressive Insurance found out
Expanded information, communication, and mobility enable customers to make better choices and share their
preferences and opinions with others around the world. summarizes some of the new consumer capabilities we outline next.
• Consumers can use the Internet as a powerful information and purchasing aid. From the home, office, or mobile phone, they can compare product prices and features, consult user reviews, and order goods online from anywhere in the world 24 hours a day, seven days a week, bypassing limited local offerings and realizing significant price savings. They can also engage in “showrooming”: comparing products in stores but buying online. Because consumers and other constituents can in fact track down virtually any kind of company information, firms now realize that transparency in corporate words and actions is of paramount
importance
Consumers can search, communicate, and purchase on the move. Consumers increasingly integrate smar phones and tablets into their daily lives. One study found the majority of European smart phone owners
use their devices to research products and make purchases.40 There is one cell phone for every two
people on the planet—and 10 times more cell phones are produced globally each day than babies are born.
Telecommunications is one of the world’s trillion-dollar industries, along with tourism, military, food, and
automobiles.
• Consumers can actively interact with companies. Consumers see their favorite companies as workshops
from which to draw out the offerings they want. By opting in or out of lists, they can receive
marketing and sales-related communications, discounts, coupons, and other special deals. With smart
phones, they can scan barcodes and QR (Quick Response) codes to access a brand’s Web site and other
information
• Consumers can reject marketing they find inappropriate. Some customers today may see fewer product
differences and feel less brand loyal. Others may become more price- and quality-sensitive in their search
for value. Almost two-thirds of consumers in one survey reported that they disliked advertising.43 For these
and other reasons, consumers can be less tolerant about undesired marketing. They can choose to screen out
online messages, skip commercials with their DVRs, and avoid marketing appeals through the mail or over
the phone.
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