Businesses are emerging from covid19 with a new reality. Spurred by lockdowns and continuous anxiety, many customers have changed their behaviour and new purchase patterns are emerging.
This means businesses will need to adjust their approaches to servicing customers and the emphasis placed on marketing various product and service features to continue to serve existing customers and attract new sales. Businesses may even, in some cases, need to redesign their products and services to make them more attractive to the new needs of customers.
Here’s some of the changes I’ve observed, and are driving my business’s product design and marketing, based on interactions with my customers, and conversations with other business owners.
Customers want more than ever to feel safe
As a result of the pandemic, customers now feel more vulnerable and are expressly seeking additional safety and security in their transactions. I’m seeing customers placing a higher premium on these features and demanding additional surety so as to feel safe in their purchase decision.
This also suggests that services that remove anxiety or concern will be more highly valued and sought after by customers to help them feel safe in the new normal.
Businesses should be transparent and clear about their safety features and consider how they may add or emphasise security and safety as a feature of their own products or services.
Businesses also need to think about how they are interacting with customers as those that are able to reduce anxiety and uncertainty during transactions with customers will be more attractive. Are they treating customers with compassion and care? Are they listening to their needs and concerns? Are they focusing on security and safety?
Everything is digital
Customers are more likely to engage digitally after months of normalising this behaviour through limited opportunities to engage in person. This means almost anything that can be done digitally will be more attractive, and anything that cannot, or is more difficult online will be less attractive.
Businesses should consider this they develop their marketing and design ways to make it easy for their customers to engage with them digitally. If your business is still unable to make a transaction happen digitally consider whether you need to redesign your products to be more digital-friendly, to compete in the new normal.
Connection is more valuable than ever
Regardless of whether the connection is in person or online, customers more than ever want to feel connected. This is because their ability to connect has been constrained for so long, leaving many acutely feeling the lack of human contact.
Connections made in person as well as digital connections are both more valuable and add value to the services you provide. Businesses should consider how they can be better at creating a connection – providing customer service and building relationships with their customers, and make this a key feature of their business and marketing.
Rough around the edges
After months of Zoom calls, many people have become used to holding professional meetings with an untidy home, occasional barking dog or playing children in the background.
As such customers are more likely to forgive a few rough edges on a product or service, provided the business is focused on service and support. Customers are more willing to be tolerant of problems if the business is committed to helping them solve these problems. Businesses should consider launching products and services a little earlier and test and evolve with their customers. They will be able to provide less-than-perfect solutions and still keep customers as long as they are responsive.
What trends have you noticed in how customers are engaging your business differently?
How are you adjusting your business to continue to serve the needs of your customers and attract new ones?
