Rebuilding customer touchpoints, which were torn apart by the pandemic, into something positive.

On July 16, Dentsu Inc., Dentsu Digital Inc., and BeBit jointly hosted the webinar "What Transformation is Required in the Era of the New Normal?"

In the era of living with COVID-19, we often hear the term "new normal," which refers to accepting irreversible changes and creating a new society and new norms. But what exactly is the new normal, and what isn't?

Three experts with diverse perspectives and backgrounds discussed what companies should focus on in the era of living with COVID-19, without getting bogged down in defining the term.

This time, we look back at the session by Mr. Yoshihisa Suzuki, Executive Officer at Dentsu Inc., who has spearheaded the digital transformation of the Dentsu Group.

<Table of Contents>
▼Toward Strong and Flexible Marketing, Including Both Online and Offline
▼How Did the Three Customer Touchpoints—"EC," "App," and "Real"—Change During the Pandemic?
▼The Pandemic Forces Us to Reexamine: "Why Does This Business, This Brand, Exist?"
▼Creating a New Society Where All Parties Benefit, Starting with Social Issues

(Moderator: Takuya Kagata, Dentsu Digital Inc. )

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Toward Strong and Flexible Marketing, Both Online and Offline

Mr. Yoshihisa Suzuki, who powerfully advanced digital marketing for the domestic Dentsu Group at Dentsu Digital Inc. and currently serves as an Executive Officer at Dentsu Inc. Having worked across various departments, including marketing, he is renowned for his broad perspective and flexible thinking that adapts to rapid change.

Mr. Suzuki also began by highlighting the concept of "After Digital," introduced by Mr. Fujii of Beebit in the previous article, as a key term.

"From Fujii's 'After Digital,' I learned that as OMO (the fusion of online and offline sales channels) takes shape—where digital wraps around the real world—companies and brands that seamlessly integrate UX into daily life are growing. In the digital society, creating touchpoints where products become established and grow within the customer experience is crucial. Subscriptions have taken hold, but the key is how to increase the touchpoints where customers actually use them."

Mr. Suzuki suggests that Chinese business models offer valuable reference points for customer touchpoints.

Giant platforms like "WeChat" and "AliPay" collect vast amounts of transaction data by providing services ranging from customer payments to communication and MaaS (Mobility as a Service).

Similar to the UX Intelligence proposed by Mr. Fujii, this acquired data is leveraged to deliver the information customers seek at the right moment. Suzuki sees this as the key to future business success.

Therefore, the biggest challenge is how to capture customer touchpoints at every possible moment. The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic led Mr. Suzuki to conclude that

"strong yet flexible marketing, encompassing both online and offline channels, has become essential."

He expressed this assessment of the current situation.

Companies that relied primarily on physical customer touchpoints are now facing significant challenges and must rebuild new customer touchpoints.

How have the three customer touchpoints—"EC," "App," and "Real"—changed during the pandemic?
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Mr. Suzuki identified the current customer touchpoints as

1. EC
2. App
3. Physical

and presented data for each on the slides.

First, looking at traffic to the EC site, June figures reached 175% compared to last year, indicating that "buying via EC" is becoming established among consumers.

Next, App (smartphone app) data. Downloads increased in March compared to February across all categories, confirming that smartphone apps are now becoming the most accessible touchpoint for consumers.

The third touchpoint is "Real." Dentsu Inc. and DAN (Dentsu Aegis Network) have conducted five rounds of the COVID-19 Consumer Awareness Navigator survey, tracking consumer sentiment.

This data reveals that while there is little reluctance to go out for groceries or daily necessities, activities like leisure, socializing, and participating in workplace or community events are being rapidly avoided.

The Pandemic Forces Reassessment: "Why Does This Business, This Brand, Exist?"

Furthermore, Mr. Suzuki presented graphs from Dentsu Inc.'s separate "Deep Insights Survey on Life During the Pandemic" (conducted eight times), introducing the top five things consumers "re-recognized during the pandemic."

• "I have come to recognize the importance of health once again."
• "Recognized the importance of preparing for risks"
• "I started thinking about the hardships of essential workers"
• "I feel anxious about the future"
• "I have come to recognize the importance of changing my mood"

Furthermore, Mr. Suzuki notes that over these eight surveys, more people have gradually come to recognize the importance of real-life experiences like "music, art, and other entertainment," "travel," and "movement."

"People are feeling the stress of not being able to do things they took for granted, deepening the realization that what was once routine now requires effort to achieve. I believe this trend is growing not just in Japan, but globally."

After summarizing the current situation, Suzuki posed the question: "What has COVID-19 forced us to confront?"

"There's a method called the violation experiment, where they say, 'When someone goes a month without drinking milk, what they think about is the essence of milk.' I believe this is actually happening in real life during the pandemic. What is driving? What is toasting? What is window shopping? What is karaoke? What is travel?"

In other words, Suzuki says, this is an opportunity to fundamentally reexamine why that category, that business, that brand exists in the first place.

As a prime example, Suzuki cited the newspaper ad Fast Retailing ran in April. In the ad, the company stated:

Clothing is one of the essentials for people to live clean and comfortable daily lives.

To deliver the right clothes to the right people at the right time.

UNIQLO will continue to fulfill its role in protecting your daily lives through clothing.

Creating a new society where all parties benefit, starting from social issues

In response to such examples, Mr. Suzuki stated, "This is an opportunity to consider the category, the essential value the brand provides, and social issues."

"The negative impacts made visible by this pandemic could potentially accelerate progress toward achieving the global SDG goals set for 2030,"

Suzuki said.

Now, New York Governor Cuomo is advocating for BBB (Build Back Better). This message calls for rebuilding a world that is kinder to the global environment, kinder to people's lives, and more compassionate toward the poor. Suzuki described this as a concept similar to the "creative reconstruction" seen after the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.

Rather than merely returning from the negative impact of the pandemic to zero, Mr. Suzuki presented a vision that this moment should instead be seen as an opportunity to aim for solving various social challenges.

To tackle the social issues that have surfaced during the pandemic, he emphasized the need to:

"We need to break through customers' sense of stagnation and gain employees' empathy. Furthermore, the companies building our value chains are also struggling now. Beyond the Omi merchant principle of 'benefit for the seller, benefit for the buyer, benefit for society' (sanpō yoshi), we need a 'benefit for all four parties' (shihō yoshi) approach. This means aligning everyone in the value chain toward the same vector and shared growth goals."

he emphasized.

He then introduced Dentsu Inc.'s DX services designed to overcome these challenges, concluding the session.