3 Reasons Why Consumer Behavior is Changing (and What to Do About It)

The taxi and hotel industry, the music industry, and the media industry have changed fundamentally over the last couple of years. Your industry might be the next to be disrupted by an agile startup or a company from an adjacent or even a seemingly unrelated industry. So, this is not the time to wait patiently to be challenged by some clever newcomer. This is the time to plan ahead before the competition takes your market share and your profitability.

There are 3 recognizable, disruptive trends that apply to consumer patterns in almost all industries. Let’s take a look at these trends, and see what you can do about them.

1. Real-timeification of Consuming
Modern consumers are well informed. Today’s consumers are always carrying an endless source of real-time information in their pockets: their smartphones. I call this the “real-timeification of buyer behavior.” This means that potential buyers will always find the best deal in real time.

To be successful in this market, you have to constantly monitor the prices, value propositions, customer engagement and behavior of your competition. And importantly, adapt whenever you may be at risk to be outsmarted by your competitor.

2. Reviewification of Business
When was the last time you booked a hotel? I bet you used a review site before you made your decision. 49% of consumers look for at least a 4-star rating before they choose to use a business. I call this the “reviewification” of business.

So, to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to earn your reputation. How? Aim for perfection. Happy clients write great reviews, and that is something money cannot buy. But remember: not every client writes a review. You have to work hard to get those reviews and find clever ways to get your happy customers to review you.

3. “Uberization” of the Market
The taxi and hotel industry are the poster children of business disruption. Many once-thriving companies are now struggling because lean startups took large parts of their market share. The reason for this “uberization” is customer need.

So, listen to your customers! They will tell you their wishes.

Now that you know what is happening and how it impacts your business and in order to better adapt to these disruptions, I offer some practical steps:

1. It is now possible to get an almost 360-degree view of your customer, so grab that opportunity by looking into the newest customer relationship management (CRM) solutions.
2. Monitor the prices and value propositions of your competition and adapt to them. Do you have the people and the solutions to accomplish this task?
3. Monitor new players in your market and always ask these questions: How will this company or initiative affect or disrupt my business? Does it have the potential to steal the juiciest bits of my business? If so, which needs or desires of your customers did you not fulfill? And of course, take action and give customers the experience they deserve in order to outperform the new startups before they can make inroads into your customer base.
4. Install a monitoring system that monitors engagement and identifies interactions of your customers on social media. Systems such as this can also monitor websites that specialize in reviews. Do you have a team that monitors these channels through professional software such as OBI4Wan and can act on the results?

We have created the growth.directory in order to create a database filled with A LOT of tools that can help you better understand your consumer needs and to collect real user feedback.

Would you like more information about these steps, or do you need help implementing them? Let’s talk!