The post-epidemic era, the economic environment has changed. 40 years of rapid growth has entered a new era, and the era of low growth is coming and has existed for a long time. Consumers' expectations for brands and communication methods are also changing. They hope to gain more voice and look forward to increasingly entering the core of brand relationships. The 2020 C-CSI study found that
This year's C-CSI score is 79.0, making it even more difficult to move forward. 's satisfaction index has risen for two consecutive years, surpassing the customer satisfaction scores in the United States and South Korea for the first time. Consumer satisfaction evaluates the relative position of the brand in consumer perception. While obtaining high scores, expectations are also constantly increasing, and it will be more difficult to meet and improve demand in the future.
Since the release of C-CSI, the satisfaction of Chinese brands has made great progress. From the perspective of the country attributes of the most satisfied brands of customers, Chinese brands account for 67%, with a satisfaction score of 82.4, higher than 33% and 81.1 of international brands. Entering a new stage of brand relationship, Chinese brands need to move from shallow satisfaction to excellent satisfaction. In this process, the opponent is not only others, but also the brand itself.
The younger generation is more active in the satisfaction evaluation and is required to be picky. Among all the people, scored the lowest satisfaction score of 00, 76.8 points, followed by , with 78.2 points. How a brand can grasp the core needs of the younger generation, guide and meet expectations in the future is the key to improving satisfaction.
satisfaction rankings are highly competitive. In the 2020 C-CSI survey results, 64.5% of the top brands changed. consumer experience perception is easy to change, and it is not easy to maintain the advantage of satisfaction. This is the challenge facing brand relationship construction. Part 1 C-CSI data results found that
2020 C-CSI score continued to grow
2020 China Customer Satisfaction Survey results showed that the average C-CSI score was 79.0 points, up 5.0 points from last year. It exceeded the average customer satisfaction level of the United States and South Korea for the first time since the first survey in 2015.
2020 C-CSI research covers a total of 224 categories in three major industries. Among them, the fast-moving consumer goods industry includes 93 categories with a score of 79.3 points; the consumer goods industry includes 54 categories with a score of 79.0 points; and the service industry includes 77 categories with a score of 78.8 points.
Chinese brands are winning more consumers' affirmation
In 2020, 67% of the most satisfied brands in 224 categories were obtained by Chinese brands. This result has fallen slightly compared to last year, and Chinese brands still account for two-thirds of the list in the past three years. The average C-CSI value of the Chinese brand that customers are most satisfied with is 82.4, which is higher than the 81.1 of international brands.
The brands that won the top ranking in China are divided into regions, including 43 seats in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, 37 seats in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, and 32 seats in the Yangtze River Delta, ranking among the top three in the region; among international brands, there are 27 seats in the US, 27 seats in European brands, and 16 seats in Japanese and Korean brands.
There are differences in the evaluation of satisfaction with age and income. There is little difference between urban levels.
Among different generations, the post-00s post-00s score has the lowest satisfaction score, 76.8 points, followed by the post-00s post-00s, with 78.2 points; the post-00s post-00s and post-00s with higher demand expectations also require more innovation in experience demand and satisfaction.
Consumers at different urban levels have gradually become consistent in their demand satisfaction. From the perspective of urban level, first-tier/new first-tier cities have the highest satisfaction, with a score of 79.1 points. Compared with second- and third-tier cities and first-tier cities, the gap is small.
income gradually increases, and consumer demand satisfaction increases, and the higher the evaluation. The satisfaction score of the high-income class is 80.3 points, while the middle- and low-income class is 77.7 points and 76.0 points respectively.
64.5% of the categories customers are most satisfied with the change of ownership of brands, and the satisfaction competition pattern is fierce. Among the 214 industries surveyed in 2019 to 2020, 138 industries have the most satisfied brands have changed, accounting for 64.5% (according to the C-BPI results released by Chnbrand in April this year, the proportion of brands in the top ranking is only 15.3%). On the one hand, it shows that consumers' attitudes are easy to change, and on the other hand, it is also an opportunity for brand improvement.Judging from the survey results, the occurrence of replacement on 4/13 is a traceable process, and in most cases it is a gradual loss process. For example, the Band-Aid category, the most satisfied brand of customers for four consecutive years, has declined year by year in the past three years, and was eventually surpassed by Yunnan Baiyao this year. Part 2 Brand relationships are "advanced", opportunities and challenges coexist
Spiritual satisfaction and digital experience are the evolution direction of consumer relationships
Consumers have higher recognition of products and services that can reflect higher quality of life requirements, such as high-end cigarettes (Nanjing), high-end liquor (Moutai), dishwasher (Siemens), somatosensory game consoles (Sony), and special car services (Licheng private car); at the same time, consumers' demand for experience outside of home increases, such as short-term rental apartments (Sveden Apartment), express hotels (Home Inn), homestay booking platforms (Airbnb Airbnb), outdoor equipment (Colombia), aviation services (South China Airlines), etc.; consumers pay more attention to the concept of healthy life, such as sports clothing (Li Ning), fitness clubs (Alishanda), chain pharmacies (Tongrentang), hand sanitizer (Blue Moon), life insurance (China Life), etc. This means that consumers are concerned about areas that can continuously output spiritual satisfaction such as quality, pleasure, beauty and health.
The continuous development of technology and the more convenient digital life have helped emerging brands to grow rapidly, including mobile phones ( Huawei ), express service (JD Express), takeaway platform (Meituan), special sales websites (Vippshop), third-party payment platforms ( Alipay ) and other categories. While consumers enjoy the convenience of technology and digital life, they are also more willing to try and explore brands that truly rely on excellent experiences and exceed expectations.
is representative of Huawei and Xiaomi , which have been built from scratch in the past decade to become a well-known emerging brand for consumers. In this year's C-CSI results, Huawei brand was on the list in 7 categories and won the championship in 5 categories; Xiaomi brand was on the list in 11 categories, 1 category won the championship, and 5 categories ranked among the top three in the satisfaction rankings. How to get continuous appreciation of
is a challenge facing brands
wins the heartfelt recognition and appreciation of consumers. It is not easy to win the recognition and appreciation of C-CSI customers for six consecutive years. Only three people have won the most satisfied brand titles of C-CSI customers, namely Apple (laptop), Snowflake (beer), and Lock Lock (fresh box); in the continuous survey category from 2015 to 2020, it has won five consecutive years. There are 5 brands in the C-CSI category, including Philips (electric shaver), Blue Moon (laundry detergent), Michelin (car tires), IKEA (large home store) and Sony (somatosensory game console); there are 12 brands that have ranked first in the C-CSI category for four consecutive years; including China Merchants Bank (credit card), Alipay, Blue Moon (hand sanitizer), Emma (electric bicycle), Good Liyou (pai), Galanz (microwave oven), Starbucks, etc. The elements of success that they continue to win consumers’ approval are worthy of in-depth research by brands.
The environment is becoming increasingly complex, and the shallow brand relationship linking method can no longer keep up with the pace of consumer demand. Brands are becoming increasingly urgent by perceiving the changes in consumers' deep demands and committing to relationship evolution. Based on the results of C-CSI research in 2020, we propose three major trends in brand relationship evolution:
first, transforming from "material satisfaction" to "spiritual satisfaction". The combination of material satisfaction and spiritual satisfaction in consumer needs is an important manifestation of the upgrading of experience needs and even the evolution of relationships. People's needs are no longer satisfied with the acquisition of pure product functions or service benefits, but are beyond the level of material satisfaction, and tend to incorporate more spiritual satisfaction brought by quality, pleasure, beauty and health into the experience, and have a lasting desire to consume.
Second, converting from "shallow satisfaction" to "extreme satisfaction". In the era of new brand relationships in , satisfaction has been regarded as a sense of basic demand satisfaction. This is just a shallow brand relationship. If consumers are not satisfied, they will not buy it. At the same time, satisfaction may not necessarily lead to sales growth. Based on all C-CSI's listed brand data, the correlation coefficient between satisfaction and repurchase expectations and recommendation diffusion is very small.There should be higher-level experience perception above satisfaction, and this ultimate experience perception is the direction of brand "advancement". Satisfaction changes from the end point of the enterprise's goal to the starting point. The higher the level of satisfaction reaching, the more consumers will pay a high purchase premium for this ultimate satisfaction.
Third, converting from "participants" to "investors". is currently surging, and its reputation and power continues to grow. Young consumers are increasingly willing to express their own likes and dislikes, and are beginning to "enter" the center from brand relationship recipients and gain more initiative in brand relationships. Consumers began to consider themselves investors and sharers of brands, and spontaneously view and jointly build brand value itself as brand owners.
Based on the above three trends, companies are not only concerned with transaction conclusions, but also with the creation of a new brand relationship that "builds value" for consumers.
This is a strategic thinking change. In the journey of "advance" relationships, new brand relationships allow consumers to enter the core of brand relationships by building connections between brands and consumers, and together with brands, they become brand value investors and co-construction and sharers. The process of becoming is the core of brand relationships' pursuit of "progress".
This is also an innovation in brand management methods. In the process of "advance" relationships, key contacts allow consumers to actively intervene, regularly take stock of, and build a normalized brand relationship measurement system, which is a guarantee mechanism for the implementation of brand management strategies. Relying on 10 years of brand rating and consulting experience, Chnbrand can help companies enter a new era of brand relationships: the C-BPI index can provide an objective measure for brand value measurement; the C-NPS/C-CSI index can continuously track the communication effect between brands and consumers; and the customer experience management system can empower brand relationships in real time at various consumer contacts. This is an effective path to "advance" brand relationships and enable consumers to eventually move towards "extreme satisfaction". (Yiming)
