Technology is not only revolutionizing the way industry players in ASEAN conduct business, it is also changing the pattern of their customers’ decision-making processes.

In the pre-connectivity era, a customer’s journey to buying a product or service was relatively simple and short, which could be described as the 4A process: Aware, Attitude, Act and Act Again.

This funnel-shaped process demarcated the various points in the customer journey, as they become aware of a brand, develop an attitude toward it — of like or dislike, based on which they decide whether to purchase it and also consider if it is worth a repeat purchase.

The funnel shape is on account of the fact that the number of customers keeps on declining as they move from one stage to another — people who like the brand will naturally be aware of it, those who buy it like it and those who buy it again will have already purchased once.

Also, the 4A customer path is personal. The main influence being cast on customers’ decision-making as they move along the path is from companies’ touch points, for e.g. TV advertisements at “Aware” phase, salespersons at “Act” phase, or service centers at “Act Again” phase. The customer journey is seemingly well within companies’ control.

Today, in the era of connectivity, the customer journey is no longer a straightforward funnel-like process, and it is not personal. The changes brought about by the technology-driven connected world call for redefining of the customer path.

In today’s new connected world, the customer path has transformed into a 5A process: Aware, Appeal, Ask, Act and Advocate.

In the “Aware” phase, customers are passively exposed to a long-list of brands from prior experience, marketing communications, and/or recommendations from others. Traditionally, brands would launch massive advertising campaigns, which were considered generally effective in building awareness in a short span of time.

But digital connectivity enables brands to effectively accomplish that on much lower spending budgets. For example, Xiaomi, a privately owned Chinese electronics company that manufactures high-quality affordable smartphones, has succeeded in building sizeable awareness in some ASEAN countries — especially Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore — by capitalizing on recommendations from its customers.

In the next phase, customers tend to process the messages they are exposed to, creating either a short-term memory or an amplifying long-term memory, eventually becoming attracted only to a short list of brands. That marks the “Appeal” stage.

In industries where too many brands are competing for mind share, a brand ought to develop a strong appeal. It could do so by adequately demonstrating its differentiation to its target market, through benefits that are functional and/or emotional.

Indonesia’s Go-Jek and Malaysia’s Grab have developed advantages in terms of technological practicality (functional benefit) as well as comfort and safety (emotional benefit), so that customers looking for transportation services would consider those brands in addition to “conventional” choices.

Eventually, prompted by their curiosity, customers actively search for more information on the brands they are attracted to, from their friends and family, from the media, and/or directly from the companies. This represents the “Ask” stage.

At this stage, the customer path changes from individual to social. Customer decisions are heavily influenced by the take-away from conservations with others. This acts more like a confirmation of the brand appeal developed earlier by the customer, which helps progress on to the next stage.

The emergence of online platforms that facilitate customers to post independent reviews of products and services is a trend businesses must take a close note of. In the hospitality industry, TripAdvisor is one example of such an online platform where customers can ask questions as well as provide commentary on various travel-related service providers.

Reinforced by more information, customers decide to “Act.” They buy a particular brand and interact deeper with a brand through purchase, usage, and/or service processes. With the development of technology today, a purchase can be made online or through mobile application, and it doesn’t necessarily need a face-to-face interaction.

According to a survey conducted by GlobalWebIndex in 2014, the population of Asia Pacific that makes online purchases using personal computers has reached 51 percent, while purchases by mobile is at 15 percent. This number is predicted to continue to rise with improving digital literacy in Asia.

Over time, customers may develop a strong sense of loyalty toward a brand, which is initially reflected from retention, repurchase, and ultimately from recommendation to others. This is the “Advocate” stage.

In the connectivity era, advocacy is a major attribute of the customer journey that companies should leverage, since positive advocacy and recommendations from personal acquaintances or opinions posted online are emerging to become the most trusted form of information.

The 5A framework explained above is a practical tool that is applicable to almost all situations, business and nonbusiness. It allows industry player to get insights into a company’s relationship with its customers. It also provides directions for politicians to understand their voter behavior better.

And finally, the winners will be those who can deliver something extraordinary to “wow” their (digital) customers, and then, create a snowball effect through positive recommendation.
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Hermawan Kartajaya is founder and chairman of MarkPlus, Inc. and one of the founders of the Philip
Kotler Center for ASEAN Marketing (PKCAM). Ardhi Ridwansyah is director of EMBA SBM-ITB/MarkPlus Institute.

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