The outbreak of the epidemic has led to a transformation in the way business is conducted, significantly changing the nature and profit models of commerce. When planning products, it is essential to recognize the differences in lifestyle and decision-making patterns among different generational groups and to understand consumer needs for precise matching of people and products. For those born in the 70s and 80s, understanding the consumption concepts of the 90s and post-2000 generations is particularly crucial, as it is one of the basic principles of the marketing field.
The customer ecosystem is, in fact, the marketing system. When establishing new brands, marketing planning involves not only designing high-quality goods but also planning effective promotional content. Whether in formulating market campaign strategies or managing the distribution matrix, the ultimate goal is closely related to completing sales transactions. All of these constitute the front-stage work of interacting with customers.
However, whether in industries such as ice cream, apparel, catering, or pet food, besides the customer front-end, the company’s back-end must also communicate and collaborate with various partners such as technology, supply chains, finance, and government. This network of relationships is collectively referred to as the partner ecosystem. Therefore, the direct interactions with consumers are called the customer ecosystem, while the internal and partnership relations form the partner ecosystem.
The focus of this discussion is on the customer ecosystem, in other words, marketing and sales. It is important to emphasize that interactions are not limited to online but also include offline person-to-person interactions. Whether talking with a salesperson in a physical store, attending family gatherings or friends’ meetups, or even participating in warm-up exercises before a marathon, these are all part of interactive behavior, showing that the venues for interaction have become very diverse and rich today.
