As new and emerging technology become more accessible, companies and consumers alike dabble in trying out new tools to make life a little easier – whether it’s using ChatGPT for content ideas, different communications apps to stay connected with loved ones, or even submersing ourselves into the virtual world of the metaverse. Each new and emerging technology has brought new experiences, new uses and definitely new discussions.
This got us thinking. We’d been monitoring trends on how consumers in general were using new technology, especially as the trend of digitisation continues across organisations and industries. What we really wanted to better understand about communications was:
- What new technology is being used by consumers and how are they using them?
- What’s the likelihood of using new technology for communications from their service providers or brands of choice?
- How does the concept of ‘trust’ impact new technology, especially as data security and privacy become even more important?
- And lastly, will new technology impact calls to action?
So we ventured out, surveying consumers across the country, to understand their behaviours and preferences, and what these findings mean for you, our clients.
Here are some of our key findings:
- Consumers are generally satisfied with how they currently receive their communications, with email as the most used/preferred channel. However, this doesn't mean they’re more likely to react or respond to communications sent via email.
- While email is the common thread across generations, it’s clear there are different communication preferences and priorities between them.
- Older generations tend to use emerging technology out of curiosity, while younger generations more often use it for work/study related reasons, for idea generation or to create content.
- Among younger generations there’s more openness to emerging technology being used to offer a better customer experience, provided concerns around data privacy and security are addressed.
- Younger generations are also more open to improved customer experiences using emerging technology to drive things like hyper personalisation and omni-channel communications. More than two thirds of our Gen Y and Gen Z respondents feel these would make for a more engaging experience.
To get a deeper understanding of the research insights, a closer look at the communication preferences and priorities of each generation, what that means for your business and how we can help, register for our upcoming webinars.