To overcome customers’ preoccupation with pricing, it’s important for consumer electronics manufacturers to consider strategies to build customer loyalty by increasing customers’ engagement, improving their experiences and increasing perceived value.
Traditionally, manufacturers in this industry have attempted to increase customer engagement and add perceived value through product innovation—using new features to combat perceptions of product commoditization. Today, however, innovation in consumer electronics is increasingly being affected by the new business model called “superstacks”—a more extensive and cohesive integration of operating systems, semiconductor chips, devices, applications and end-user services than the industry has traditionally achieved.
A wide array of CE makers are likewise positioned to benefit from their use of the superstack concept. Accenture worked with client, Olympus, to develop an integrated solution for its customers.
Superstacks have the potential to win more customer loyalty and satisfaction, and get customers to pay more and be less obsessed with the prices of products—because consumers will pay for that better customer experience. To optimize their success in using a superstack strategy, CE executives need to evaluate what systems, chips, applications and services will best combine with their devices to deliver more significant value to consumers—and to facilitate consumer contact. Creating superstacks intelligently will require more use of analytics by manufacturers to identify consumer’s specific requirements.
Coupled with analytics methods and processes, agile companies will also interact with consumers via social media, and engage them in innovation. Social media forums are an important part of a successful superstack strategy, as they create value for the consumer and provide manufacturers with a valuable way to engage consumers in the innovation process. They also have the potential to serve as an important source of data for analytics.
To combat the growing problem of weak customer loyalty, consumer electronics manufacturers need to use new approaches to innovation and engagement. A key will be to develop differentiated superstack ecosystems, both to add distinctive value and to build more direct customer relationships. Beyond that, manufacturers’ superstack strategies will need to be properly targeted with analytics and reinforced with new forms of customer engagement.
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