Trend 1: The digitization and expansion of channels
Without a doubt, your company has already embraced digital channels to connect with customers. Most of them have. However, in the past, digital channels – websites, social media, and so on – were viewed as add-ons to the digitization journey. Customers are increasingly coming to a business through a digital channel now that the gear has shifted completely. In other words, digital comes first.
According to a McKinsey global survey, the COVID-19 crisis accelerated the digitization of customer and supply chain interactions by three to four years – in just a few months. This means that companies must focus their efforts on improving digital-first interactions with their customers. And this entails concentrating on three specific areas:
- Applications
- An omnichannel experience that runs smoothly (where customers can move seamlessly between different channels and still get a cohesive customer experience)
- New digital-only items
Trend 2: Product and service cognition
Artificial intelligence and the Internet are unavoidable. Both are now intricately linked in our daily lives, as seen by the growing number of “smart” items on the market.
This “cognification” of things, defined by Kevin Kelly, Wired magazine’s founding executive editor, is being applied to a wide range of objects, from refrigerators and automobiles to large industrial machinery in factories. In fact, with sensors shrinking in size and cost, almost anything can be made smart. But it’s not just products that are becoming more intelligent; AI capabilities are also being added to services.
Trend 3: Micro-moments and personalization
People desire to feel unique in this age of hyper-individualization. They want brands to recognize and respond to their unique requirements. They want something personal to them, rather than the mass marketing tactics of the past. To put it another way, your customers want a deeper relationship with your company.
They also want it now. Customers today are time-strapped and frequently assaulted with information, so they want speedy responses. Businesses face a difficulty (and an opportunity) in identifying the precise times when customers are looking for something specific (be it a product, information, or anything) and then providing it swiftly. The window to provide clients with what they’re seeking could be as short as a few seconds – a concept Google calls “micro-moments.”
Trend 4: Subscription and servitization
This is one of the most significant future developments. Organizations of all kinds may now surprise their customers with intelligent subscription-based services and products, thanks to the increasing organization of products and services.
This trend is all about switching from a traditional business model in which customers buy a product or service as and when they need it to one in which they sign up to receive it regularly. The customer appreciates the ease of auto-renewals and becomes closer to the companies they like. Meanwhile, the company generates predictable revenue since customers will continue to pay for value as long as it is delivered.
Trend 5: Eliminating the middleman
The direct-to-consumer trend, also known as disintermediation, essentially means bypassing traditional intermediaries in the supply chain – such as retailers, wholesalers, distributors, and advertisers – to connect directly with the end consumer. Brands from all industries are now using online channels to reach out to customers in new and direct ways.
I believe that all businesses should think about how they can create new ways to connect directly with their customers. This trend poses a significant challenge for intermediary organizations such as banks and retailers. These previously dominant intermediaries will have to reconsider their operations as a result of being driven out of the equation.
Trend 6: From B2C to “all to all”
Customers connect with other customers to communicate or trade goods/services in the customer-to-customer (C2C) economy, which has given rise to massive platform businesses such as Uber, Facebook, and Etsy. There is value in facilitating these interactions and transactions, and platforms that can provide a safe and simple way for customers to connect have seen tremendous growth.
Even if your company isn’t a platform, you should be aware of this trend. There may be an opportunity to switch to a platform model or launch a new business centered on a value-added platform.
Trend 7: Immersive experiences
Brands can now wow their customers with engaging, immersive experiences thanks to extended reality (XR) technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).
Consumers today place a higher value on experiences than on tangible products (particularly among millennials, where 75 percent say they value experiences over things). This implies that organizations that want to stay relevant must make the customer journey — whether online or offline – a meaningful, memorable experience.
Trend 8: Conscious consumption
We’ve reached a tipping point in environmental awareness, thanks in part to movements like the Extinction Rebellion and the work of environmental activist Greta Thunberg.
With increased knowledge comes a need for products that are more ecologically friendly and long-lasting. We should frequently ask questions like, “Is this fair trade?” and “Was this farmed sustainably? We should attempt to be conscious consumers, that is, to understand the broader impact of our purchases and, whenever possible, to choose more responsible alternatives.
It requires courage to reimagine your company to account for these developments, especially if it may necessitate devouring of your current business model. It also necessitates humility – the humility to examine other industries and organizations and identify what they do better.
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