Breakthrough tech is raising the bar for brands, shifting expectations overnight and putting trust, relevance, and experience at the center of every choice consumers make.
In a filmed conversation, special guest Elaine Parr, a Senior Partner at IBM, joined host Stefano Volpetti, PMI’s Chief Global Growth Officer, to discuss how brands can move from reacting to anticipating consumer expectations by combining data with human insight—and ultimately embracing simplicity.
Techspectation: Why people expect better tech from brands and employers
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Elaine Parr, Senior Partner, IBM, speaks:
I like this one.
How are consumer expectations
evolving in response to rapid technology innovation?
Now, I'm not sure if this is
a phrase that I've coined,
but I'm gonna own it for now: techspectation.
So techspectation is something
that we talk about from
a consumer perspective.
Stefano Volpetti, Chief Global Growth Officer, Philip Morris International, replies:
Oh, th- and that's your trademark.
I never heard it before.
Elaine speaks:
Oh, good. Excellent. This is good.
So techspectation is... there's lots of misnomers
around how consumers are thinking about technology
and their view on technology.
Consumers want good tech.
That's what they want.
They don't want bad tech, they want tech that is, authentic, that
is trusted, that is transparent,
that, is authentic to the brand.
they want good tech.
They also want personalization.
67% of us expect and
want personalization.
But around about the same amount get properly frustrated
with bad personalization.
So I think techspectation
from a consumer perspective,
regardless, by the way, of gender, of generation,
I think is super important.
But that techspectation then
flips because consumers of
our brands are also employees
of our organizations.
And so increasingly as
employees, we are what?
We have techspectations
on our employee brands
and on organizations like
IBM, like Philip Morris (International).
And, being able to deliver to
the employee expectations in
an enterprise tech perspective,
which is obviously very different
from consumer tech, although related,
is super, super important.
So I think it's round about
two-thirds of employees say
that the tools and the tech
would be one of the reasons why
they would change companies.
so I do like that question.
Techspectation.
Stefano says:
I like the fact that you put
together the consumer and
the employees, vis-a-vis the
techspectations, because in
the end, they're all humans.
We are all humans.
And, I think that, a big trait of a company
that is consumer-centric is
to be also employee-centric.
Because it communicates an
aspect of humanity, empathy,
genuinity, that is a big, dividing factor both for
consumers and for employees.
Because all of us, whether we
are an employee or a consumer,
depending on the occasion, we
benefit of that human traits
that are more on the empathy
side, more on the understanding
and genuine interaction.
And somehow the tech part of it,
not always gets us there.
Elaine says:
Yeah, exactly.
Stefano continues speaking:
And a tech that can do that
is a big differentiator
versus anything else.
Indeed, in this rapidly evolving environment, expectations are rising as consumers demand more from the technology they engage with. The leaders highlight the growing need for technology that is authentic and trusted, with Elaine coining the term “techspectations” to capture this shift.
One critical consideration is that intuitive design, trust, and authenticity are essential to turning advanced technology into experiences that genuinely resonate with people.
At PMI, we believe it’s critical to consider the impact of the rise of technology and how it shapes human experiences. Simplicity is key; without it we cannot provide consumers with what they want and need.
These themes are widely discussed in our latest white paper, “Human cognition: The next frontier?” It reinforces the importance of keeping human needs, behaviors, and experiences at the center.
We also cannot move forward by handing all decision-making to automation. Progress depends on weaving authenticity and human judgment into everything we create.
.jpg?imwidth=2048&imdensity=2 "Stefano Volpetti 2022 A (1)")
In a world that is becoming increasingly connected and complex, the power of simplicity is going to be a big divider between the winners and the losers. You have to stop and ask yourself, ‘What are the things that a human would really need and appreciate?’
Stefano Volpetti
Chief Global Growth Officer, Philip Morris International
As the conversation draws to a close, Stefano and Elaine reflect on leadership roles and how they may shift in the future. The main takeaways? Courage and curiosity. Watch the discussion below to find out why.
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