Trust and personalised services are the prevailing trends among Thai customers in the fast-changing digital world, according to a study by Salesforce, a global customer relationship management service provider.
"It is crucial for businesses and brands to understand what customers need while building and maintaining their trust, which is the key to customer engagement in the digital-first environment," Kittipong Asawapichayon, area vice-president and managing director of Salesforce Thailand, told the Bangkok Post.
Salesforce recently conducted a study, called State of the Connected Customer, in a fifth edition, to gauge the views of customers and business buyers about interactions and engagement they prefer. It surveyed 17,000 respondents across 29 countries, including 651 from Thailand.
The report said 63% of the business interactions between customers and companies in Thailand were conducted online in 2021 and that is estimated to climb to 67% in 2022. That is higher than the global average of 60% in both 2021 and 2022.
Some 93% of Thai business buyers said they have tried a new way of purchasing since 2020 and 95% indicated they have switched to a new way to communicate with companies, as opposed to 79% and 81% at the global level, respectively.
The report said 86% of business buyers in Thailand said they prefer to engage companies digitally, as opposed to 63% globally.
The digital acceleration is sparking demand for personalisation at scale, said Mr Kittipong.
With the trend of digital-first interactions, brands are being forced to merge online and offline communications and deliver personalised experiences to customers, he said.
The report also shows 87% of Thai respondents said the shopping experience is as important as products or services.
Some 88% indicated they would recommend brands to others once they receive excellent services.
"Thais are open to digital technology. This means businesses need to provide seamless online and offline experiences for customers," said Mr Kittipong. Organisations need to integrate all customers data from multi-touch points for a single source of truth, he said.
In terms of consumers' trust sentiments, 72% of the respondents in Thailand said they trusted companies they engage with, as opposed to only 48% at the global level.
Some 88% of the respondents in Thailand agreed trust becomes more important in times of change, compared with 87% at the global level.
In Thailand, 91% of business buyers agreed that trust is becoming more important.
To build trust, Mr Kittipong said, organisations need to create their value that goes in line with customers' needs and make data transparent for customers.
They need to comply with the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) in terms of collecting data with customers' consent and provide personalised services.
"The level of trust in Thailand varies according to industries. The telecom and banking sectors earn high trust," said Mr Kittipong.
The report's findings suggested the trust-based economy has emerged. As customers navigate a rapidly changing world, trust, value and integrity are playing an increasing part in relationship between customers and companies.
According to Mr Kittipong, brand loyalty is being tested amid changes in customers' behaviours. Some 78% of Thai respondents said they switched to other brands at least once over the past year.
Salesforce aims to level up customer engagement among brands by assisting companies in creating and selling non-fungible tokens with its cloud-based services as part of brands' loyalty programmes.
