HCM City (VNS/VNA) - The internet and smartphonesare having a profound impact on consumers in many areas and offeringmanufacturers and retailers the opportunity to promote their products whilealso bringing challenges in understanding new shopping trends and identifyingeffective methods of communication, a seminar heard in Ho Chi Minh City on July18.

Nguyen Phuong Nga, market development director at marketresearch company Kantar Worldpanel Vietnam, told the seminar on businessstrategies in the digital age that Vietnam has the 14th highest number ofinternet users in the world with 66 percent of its population online.

“Smart phones and the internet are becoming increasinglypopular in Vietnam, including rural areas. This creates a good premise for thedevelopment of e-commerce.”

E-commerce sites are investing more and more resources toattract consumers, she added.

Fashion products and transport services are among productswith the highest online transactions, while fast moving consumers goods (FMCG)are being increasingly bought, she said.

“The FMCG market is witnessing tremendous growth in onlineshopping in terms of the number of buyers as well as value.”

Online sales of FMCG products rose by 147 percent last year,while e-commerce revenues grew by 30 percent overall, she said

Linh Phan, lead solution engineer at Salesforce Singapore,said Vietnamese businesses should transform from being product-centric tocustomer-centric.

Many focus on how to make quality products at cheap pricesor on international operations, but do not know who the buyers are or whattheir feedback about their products is since they distribute their productsthrough distributors and think customer relations are for distributors.

Thus they do not pay much attention on customer engagement,he said.

A survey by his company found 80 percent of customers sayingthe experience a company provides is as important as its products and services,and 71 percent of shoppers use a mobile device in-store to do at least oneeducational or research activity, up from 59 percent in 2017.

Therefore, businesses must become customer-centric focusingon the customer experience, customer relationships, maximising customer valuein sales, customer engagement, and having their always-on connectivity fortheir products.

“Customer-centricity means putting the individual demand ofevery customer at the centre of a company’s philosophy, strategy, culture andoperational model.”

Many companies understand that and are taking steps totransform their operations, he said.

Executives from businesses, including Dien Quang Lamp JSCand Mitsubishi Chemical Cleansui Vietnam, spoke about their success intransforming their businesses in the digital age.

Organised by the Vietnamese High Quality Product BusinessAssociation and CIO Vietnam, the seminar was part of the “Digitalisation forSMEs” programme.-VNS/VNA