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The Era of Relationships Over Sales

By Francisco Álvarez - Getin
CCO and Co-Founder

STORY INLINE POST

By Francisco Álvarez | CCO and Co-Founder - Tue, 04/27/2021 - 09:11

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The transformation of the world in which we live has grown hand-in-hand with the incursion of technological processes in all areas. Today, there is no activity that we carry out on a daily basis in which the digital world is not involved.

Commercial activities have benefited from each stage of the evolution of technological development. This has led to significant transformations for sales processes. Today, we are living in an era where the physical and the digital coexist in the same space.

In the last five years, the technification of the sales points of brick-and-mortar stores has facilitated purchasing processes, where many current business models place customers at the center of their strategies.

The improvements in analyses and processes within the retail sector have made brands more efficient and scalable, which has allowed milestones around commercial activity that have gained relevance with the aim of continuing to capture the attention of clients.

This topic has been the focus of analysis among industry specialists. With the popularity of digital channels and the emergence of native buyers of these channels, brands are increasingly facing the challenge of retaining current buyers and attracting new consumers, who have immediate access to all the facilities needed to choose one brand over another.

This context has led to the emergence of new purchasing values. Various factors related to the new generations and their innate use of digital tools have promoted a new purchasing culture.

This is where the new trend of prioritizing relationships between brands and buyers as a primary objective over sales starts to gain importance.

The evolution of retail buyers goes hand-in-hand with the birth of new generations: In a few years, the largest share of purchases will be by millennials and centennials.

These generations are characterized by their primary interest in sensations and positive experiences around brands. From here, theories arise around how brick-and-mortar stores can provide the best shopping experience.

This trend among buyers is reflected in the evolution of the formats of malls around the world, in which developers are betting on shopping centers that function as recreational places where people also go to have fun.

For these generations, it is normal to use digital media to stay informed about the topics that interest them. This has created better-informed consumers who question where products come from and what is behind them.

Thanks to these characteristics, these consumers seek to establish a closer connection with the brands; they look for brands that represent their own lifestyle. Their purchase choices are made according to social interests, such as environmental or health impact.

These new generations make loyalty easier, since they like to be heard and expect a response. It is at this point where it makes sense for brands to focus their strategies on generating a long-term relationship with their consumers over trying to sell them goods at all costs.

Building a Relationship

The digital channel, the new generation of consumers and the rise of e-commerce due to COVID in 2020 have led brands to seek to establish a closer relationship with their buyers.

The first step is to listen to buyers, for which social networks and the digital channel can be great tools.

An important point this year is the need for brands to be transparent. To retain customers and attract new consumers, brands must align their messages and be consistent between channels. If buyers detect that the brand is only taking advantage of them, it can cause the opposite effect.

This year, it is important to cultivate and nurture relationships with buyers, since the market is saturated with options and the added value for retail is directly related to the customer.

Photo by:   Francisco Álvarez

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