WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MAGIC OF THE NEW?
Grey’s Nadim Khoury on unreasonable consumers.
Today, hardly any device, gadget or service is seen as ‘magic’ by consumers. It’s really sad when you stop to think about it. We have been spoilt for so long by technological innovation and, more importantly, by brands that teach us to always want more that we have, in essence, become unreasonable.
Do you remember how we used to react to something that is supposed to make our lives simpler and easier? When the TV remote control first hit the mainstream in the 1980s it was, well, magic. “What? I’ll be able to change channels on my TV without having to stand up and reach for the set’s rotary switch?” Back then, it was the convenience that was appreciated.
Now the age of the ‘unreasonable consumer’ is in full swing. We are in an era of free Wi-Fi, free video calls, video-on-demand, next-day delivery, smartphones, and effortless oneclick apps. A world where any sign of the slightest inconvenience will lead consumers to ignore your brand altogether. And who can blame them when Amazon taught us that sameday delivery is within the realms of possibility, Tesla proved that sacrificing gasoline doesn’t mean sacrificing performance, and Uber showed us the way to an affordable ‘personal chauffeur’ service. As Adam Morgan, co-author of A
Beautiful Constraint, writes: “A new generation of consumers sees no reason why two seemingly irreconcilable demands shouldn’t be put together. This is the generation of the Uber’s children. And this is the death of the trade-off.”
Anything that involves picking up a phone or dialling a number is frowned upon. The ‘call’ button on food delivery apps translates to a ‘chore’ and consumers now want to place orders with the touch of a finger. The same holds true for booking a ride, purchasing consumer goods, applying for jobs and many other day- to- day activities. The list goes on and on but the idea is the same: when a bold organisation or individual disrupts an entire industry for the benefit of the end user, consumers build their future expectations based on the new way of life made possible by such disruption.
While this shift in consumer behaviour and expectations is obvious to many, few realise that for this shift to continue, an ongoing transformation in business must occur in parallel.
What brands need to realise is that this is just the beginning. The increasingly rapid rate at which industries are being disrupted and lifestyles transformed means that today’s ‘unreasonable consumers’ might very well be considered saintly by tomorrow’s standards. So if you think that it is going to be any easier, think again. In today’s ultra-competitive and ever-evolving business world, to thrive means not only to stay one step ahead of your competitors but also, perhaps more importantly, one step ahead of those unreasonable consumers as well.
A mindset of ‘adaptation’ simply won’t cut it. Innovation, usability and customer experience are key. In fact, customer experience – and a completely personalised experience at that – is what will enable brands to stay ahead of the unreasonable consumer, providing them with what they want in as hassle-free, green, fast and cheap a way as possible. Of course, for some brands this might necessitate re-imagining their entire business model. Not least, it requires an organisation to re- think its approach to product development, delivery mechanisms and customer care philosophy.
I believe there should be a shift in our approach from product-centric to user-experience-centric; from reinforcing our brand to celebrating our constantly evolving identity; and from competing with other players in the market to seeking newer and better realities for our customers. This can only be done by harnessing a winning combination of technology and innovation, and by giving our customers what they want before they even know they want it.
Being more ‘unreasonable’ in our pursuit of brilliance than consumers are in their pursuit of convenience and experiences is the only reasonable thing to do in order to thrive. We must continue to push frontiers and create solutions to consumers’ problems. In doing so, we will only propel ourselves towards a better and more efficient future.