Everyone knows this by now: the world we live in is changing faster and faster. Six years ago, smartphones, tablets and WhatsApp seemed like rare curiosities from Star Trek. Today, 14-year-olds walk down the shopping street with grandparents while swiping.
In a 2012 press release, GFK (Germany's largest market research institute - and 1 of the 4 largest market research organizations in the world) already wrote that more than 50% of consumers have adapted to rapid change for the first time in history.
Source: GfK 2012, The Consumer Journey to 2020: Five Trends Driving the Future of Brands, October 2012
Thanks to the rapid expansion of high-tech consumer services such as Uber and Apple Pay, business is turning its focus to improving the customer experience. Companies are using automated technologies to do so.
Where will we be in a year? Or in five years?
To find out, American author and serial entrepreneur Scott Gerber visited 11 entrepreneurs from the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC). He asked them what consumer trends will change the way we do business in the next five years. You can read their thoughts below. (freely translated & paraphrased)
1. Retail is becoming more service-oriented
Michael Portman, Birds Barbershop
"We are a brick-and-mortar company. In recent years we have seen many of our neighbors lose against the Internet. Today you can buy almost anything in your pajamas online. You want to compete against that? Then you best shake something good out of your sleeve. Customer service is becoming everything for retailers. And for service companies, the bar is even higher. The consumer, he wins."
2. Texting and "apps" becoming more popular for businesses
Drew Gurley, Redbird Advisors
"More and more young people are joining the workforce. This means a greater focus on texting and apps as a means of communication. Students are using email less and less for their personal communication. They see texting and apps as their main means of communication. In my opinion, text messaging improves customer service. And they also play a role in future sales and deals. Using text messages in your marketing plan helps with attracting younger customers as well as employees. Companies that capitalize on this - and also use text messages - have a better chance of attracting new talent as well as customers."
Parkmobile, Transavia and Essent use WhatsApp for their customer service.
3. Communicating visually is the best way
Amy Balliet, Killer Infographics
"The average attention span of a consumer is five seconds (a goldfish has one of nine seconds!). In a world where brands compete for that limited attention span, the best medium is visual communication. Visual info is absorbed by the brain 60,000 times faster than text. And 90% of the information we retain is visual. To engage their audience and make an impact, business owners need to focus on a visual strategy. They need to find ways to incorporate infographics, images and interactive content into their communications plan."
4. Craftsmanship returns
Souny West, CHiC Capital
"We have developed a global economy with similar products - in which there are distinctions, but with no real differences. Cars, phones, tablets, franchises, etc. all look the same. Unique pieces are rather something of the past. This causes people to look back for authentic craftsmanship. If you want to succeed in tomorrow's market, you will have to offer a product or service that is innovative, beautifully designed - or excellently delivered."
5. Mobile payment changes everything
Anthony Johnson, American Injury Attorney Group
"The barrier to shopping online has always been the payment itself. It's often inconvenient. And the success of mobile apps like eBay, Amazon and PayPal is mainly because they facilitate this. Mobile payment processing goes beyond platform-level solutions - such as stored user info, for example. Technologies like Apple Pay and CurrentC allow people to buy anything using the information on their mobile devices. "Brick-and-mortar" retailers will soon accept almost all of this technology. This changes everything. It could even mean the complete replacement of credit cards within about five years."
6. Consumers are moving toward the sharing economy
Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance
"Consumers will borrow and lend more often. From places to live to cars to small electro. The lending economy will permeate all aspects of life. As a result, companies will have to rethink their business models. Perhaps by offering rental solutions, in addition to purchase options. What else? Customers are simply more likely to leave companies with poor customer service. Companies must therefore raise their service levels - or they will not survive long."
7. Consumerization of B2B services will spread
Elliont Tomaeno, Astrsk PR
"CMOs, CIOs and, of course, CEOs all use smartphones. And they also expect their B2B tech to work as well as their consumer apps. This is a great opportunity for B2B service providers to step up and improve their apps. Moreover, it creates opportunities for new companies that want to capitalize on this trend."
8. Website responsiveness will increase
Jayna Cooke, EVENTup
"Online activity is only increasing in recent years. Entrepreneurs should be well aware that their customers' user experience is becoming more valuable. It is important to leave a lasting first impression when your customer first visits your website. A good way to do this is to make your site extremely responsive. For example, make sure your contact info is prominent on your homepage. Or add a live chat to answer questions from your customers or prospects immediately."
9. Daily services are digitized
Vishal Shah, NoPaperForms
"Smartphones, meanwhile, are massively used. Users are always on the lookout for apps that make their daily lives easier. For example, you can hire professionals for all kinds of different tasks. Think of cleaning, doing laundry, dry cleaning services, car repairs, meals, etc. This creates new opportunities for entrepreneurs in these fast-growing market segments - worldwide."
10. A renewed focus on privacy
Nick Reese, BroadbandNow
"Look 5 years down the road and you see a huge number of consumers who are interested in preserving their privacy. From consumers who really go out of their way to remain anonymous, to those who want to limit the flow of information to companies. The result is that these privacy-sensitive consumers are demanding products and services that make their buying patterns, online buying habits and travel patterns more confidential. This raises a whole host of legal issues, but hopefully leads to meaningful debate. One thing I'm sure of is this: In five years, we'll look at those first Facebook photo uploads and think, "What the hell was I doing?"
11. Virtual reality is becoming a new platform
Sathvik Tantry, FormSwift
"In the information age, we have already seen three major platforms emerge: (1) computers, (2) the Internet and (3) mobile. Virtual reality is poised to become the fourth. In the next five years, we are likely to see massive growth in hardware sales such as the Oculus Rift. It goes without saying that companies are eager to capitalize on this. Because this creates new opportunities for advertising, e-commerce and entertainment. Just as someone today orders cabs, food on or books with one click, they will soon do so in a virtual world with a headset. Entrepreneurs can thus reach their target market in new ways."
What will you do?
One thing is certain:
Entrepreneurs worldwide are looking for ways to anticipate these trends. Like it or not, the future is coming. And the only constant there is change itself.
Imagine what your project will look like in five years or so. How will your consumers have changed? In what ways do they prefer to buy from you? Do you spend enough time doing market research yourself - and finding out what your customers want?
All too often I hear that entrepreneurs today do not put enough effort into their online presence. They rely on their existing network and think that the references will come pouring in. That may be all well and good, but the opportunity cost is high. And it is only increasing. Especially with the arrival of a generation of consumers who grew up with the Internet (and e-commerce) for the first time.
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