Thailand

With a population of almost 70 million and one of the highest mobile and social media penetration rates in the world¹, Thailand has been primed for its digital revolution for some years now. We have seen evidence of this through the multi-million dollar transformation programs undertaken, particularly in business to consumer (B2C) focused industries. However, the recent pandemic has driven Thailand’s household debt to a historic high in Q1 of 2021², which has vastly slowed recovery in spending. This is a barrier to success for many businesses, who now must offer value alongside a personalized experience to guide customers through to purchase. The race to deliver better, faster, price competitive products and services is on for Thai brands, which is fueling a transformation to an on-demand economy in Thailand, raising customer expectations with it.

FWD insurance has achieved the top spot in this year’s Thai rankings. Their vision is 'changing the way people feel about insurance’ by committing to delivering the very best customer experience they can, at all points of contact, through; ‘easy to read contracts – with full disclosure while removing the small print, innovative products - investing in ideas, inspired by their customers and a straightforward approach to claims - with speed, ease, and convenience’³. Earlier this year, FWD launched “Celebrate Living“, a unique brand campaign which uses a “musicumentary” (a musical documentary) to communicate the company’s philosophy “to let people live life to the fullest, worry-free, with the company by their side to help take care of the rest”. This followed an extensive market research campaign focused on “Celebrate Living” and the definition of “what makes customers happy”, providing rich insights into the lifestyles of its target customers, and what really matters to them⁴. With a leadership team that is driving significant investment in digital transformation under a multi-year program to build the insurer of the future, FWD Thailand continues to evolve to meet the changing demands of the modern Thai customer.

The insurance sector takes both top spots in this year’s Thailand rankings, with Thai Life Insurance (TLI) landing in second place. This year, Thai Life Insurance stands out in the Integrity pillar, which is evidenced through its efforts to support the medical sector in a time of real need through blood donation campaigns. Customers were encouraged to give blood to ensure blood supply continued meeting demand and were offered 30 percent premium reductions  as a reward⁵.

Apple Store, Thailand’s third-highest ranking brand for 2021, has enabled many of its Thai customers to stay connected throughout COVID-19. The global company has only two stores across ASEAN – Singapore and Thailand – making the Thai store an exclusive experience for in-person shoppers⁶. As with all its operations, Apple announced over 110 of its manufacturing partners around the world are moving to 100 percent renewable energy for their Apple production⁷ – the company has decreased its carbon footprint by 40 percent, evidenced by responses under the Integrity pillar and demonstrating the increasing importance of how customers view ESG policies when engaging with a company for products or services. 

Personalization has been a trend in consumer experience demand drivers for the past few years, and this year is the top-ranked driver of advocacy for Thai customers. It is one thing for a business to keep customers coming back, but having them advocate for your brand is invaluable. While personalized experiences are no longer just a nice-to-have, Integrity scored highest as the key driver of loyalty for Thai customers. This should be built into a brand’s DNA for success - consumers are much more conscious of how businesses operate, from their carbon footprint to the way they source their raw materials, and plenty in between.

The leading sector in Thailand for 2021 is financial services, with seven of the top 10 ranked brands being either insurers or banks. This sector has seen accelerated behavioral changes from its customers in the wake of COVID-19, with many more migrating to digital channels as means of access to and interaction with their financial services providers. Financial institutions have benefited from major investments in digitization that have allowed them to accelerate the transition to this new distribution and engagement model during the pandemic, still being able to provide that personalized experience and touch, despite the lack of face-to-face interaction.