From a deep crisis that lasted more than two years and that has devastated the old concepts and ways of doing business, the consumer that does not disappear, is reborn reinforced. Companies must be prepared to successfully face their new relationship with the customer of the future.

The study defines the future consumer-brand relationship, in which human values ​​are imposed, concern for the environment and the need for commitment. Premises that bring us closer to Persumer, a new figure that is gestating and whose name comes from the merger of Persona + Consumer.

A relationship from you to you

The Persumer demands another type of relationship with the brands to which requires a communication from you to you and without detours, much more involved in your life, your problems and your daily life. The post-crisis consumer wants to feel the closest brand, committed to their world and with the capacity to offer new, brave and firm alternatives.

A profile clearly opposed to the traditional consumer, which companies were accustomed to address until recently and with which they maintained a unidirectional and passive communication. The complex circumstances that have led to the crisis introduced uncertainty and distrust, creating an unsafe consumer profile characterized by an existential vacuum.

However, the study carried out in 2010 by the Helmer Method with consumers-innovators, FUTUR: ERS, determines how the scenario is already changing and new ways of understanding the relationship with brands are observed.

The future consumer emerges reinforced from the crisis. He has maintained a cautious stance against consumerism and criticism of brands. And in this line the Persumer is defined, a client that knows its power, its place in the brand-consumer relationship, and considers itself the protagonist of this relationship.

His critical spirit puts him in a position to be able to choose and will always opt for those brands that he perceives as well defined, that are clear and that do not go around the bush. Credibility is a rising value in this new scenario and brands should bet on that closeness and clarity if they want to reach a Persumer that is demanding and mature.

Dare to be authentic

Brands must dare to innovate and reach the future consumer in a renewed and different way. It is time to return to creativity as a fundamental tool for the renewal of the brand, which helps to convey a different image, well differentiated and more authentic. According to the study, brands must reinvent themselves to be sustainable and dare to be different, innovating not only in their messages, but in the channels to communicate them.

It is necessary to break predetermined molds and dare to explore new forms of communication. The different is now well received, there are no closed parameters but flexible proposals that openly seek to surprise the consumer of the future.

The Persumer is a WHOLE, a complete entity that feels, that is excited, that decides, etc … and demands that the brands that address him know all his circumstances and know how to anticipate his needs and desires. In this new, more direct and close relationship, the post-crisis consumer wants to experience the difference and authenticity of the brand. It will stop being faithful to brands to become addicted to the experiences they provide.

The keys to the new relationship

The study “The Next Best Brand” clearly defines what the consumer’s wishes are reborn after the crisis. The future success of each brand depends to a large extent on its success in handling the new demands of the Persumer within a renewed relationship that must be bolder, more aroused and direct.

The first premise to keep in mind is that the Internet becomes a vital tool in relation to the post-crisis consumer and closeness to their living environment. Now more than ever, who is not on the internet does not exist.

The study also reveals 10 clear premises that the new persumer demands brands. Their relationship will depend on their use of these demands:

Quality in communication (which implies getting away from superfluous); originality (the Persumer does not look for brands, but solutions); simplicity (communication of the essence, against the existing over-information); flexibility (knowing how to adapt to each role and each moment of the client); transparency (clear communication, without photoshop, but well defined), courage (risk being different), sustainability (markets are part of a whole, and must be sustainable with the rest), humility (brands also have flaws, they must show its human side), credibility (brands must maintain coherence between what is sold, what is said and what is done) and, finally, the social and ecological commitment.