Buying Trends – the Shift to Hassle-Free
Buying Trends – the Shift to Hassle-Free
Why quality is no longer top-of-mind
When it came to satisfying customers in the era immediately following World War II, no one could beat the USA. With the development of the atomic bomb they had demonstrated that they had the most advanced technology on the planet. The fact that they had developed such a terrifyingly sophisticated product gave American businesses an unrivalled reputation for innovation. That reputation resulted in a ‘honeymoon’ demand for US products that exploded throughout the 1950’s.
Fast forward to the energy crises of the 1970’s. People begin turning to smaller more fuel efficient vehicles made overseas. At first the vehicles are perceived to be of poorer quality. Yet in Japan in particular they embrace the concept of Kaizen - the practice of continuous improvement that had been introduced to them, ironically, by an American, W. Edwards Deming. Eventually, the quality of foreign vehicles and other consumer products - particularly electronic equipment, is perceived by consumers to be better that the stuff produced in North America. Domestic manufacturers are forced to improve quality. So, throughout the 1980’s and early 1990’s North American manufacturers join the movement towards “Total Quality”.
It works. Quality improves significantly. So much so, that now in the twenty first century, it’s not that consumers no longer care about the quality of manufactured products – it’s that quality is now taken for granted. So much for products. Interestingly, the same assumption about quality also applies to services. Consider the following…
Why credentials don’t stand out
When it comes to hiring services, consumers now simply take it as a given that the person is ‘qualified’ to be providing the service. When we call a company to send a plumber we don’t ask to screen candidates. We figure the person must have some sort of a ‘ticket’ or the company wouldn’t be hiring them. The teacher who instructs our children is assumed to have the proper certification. In other words, the technical capabilities of the person providing the service is generally taken for granted.
Where we’ve ended up then, is a point where consumers now assume that when they buy a product from any large well-know manufacturer the product quality will be just fine. Or, if they use a service from any reasonably sized firm the service person will be technically competent. In other words, quality itself no longer impresses consumers as much as it used to. Meanwhile, there is something more important that consumers are clamoring for.
What customers will now pay a premium for
Consumers want to be appreciated. They want respect. They want it badly because in recent years they’ve lost so much of it. They’ve gotten fed up with phoning a large company and being told to, “Press 1 for… press 6 for …” (One of my seminar participants described this as being caught in “voice-mail-jail”). They’re tired of return policies that force them to find the original packaging and paperwork, spend time and postage, waiting and hoping.
To create loyal customers, business owners and managers need to recognize that your quality alone won’t impress people that much. As we pointed out, quality is now assumed. Instead, there’s a huge opportunity to create loyalty when, in addition to solving the customer’s obvious immediate problem, you go the extra step to make the buying experience more humane. That means a hassle-free buying experience, and competent service professionals that understand how their product or service fits into the buying context of the customer. By context I mean how this purchase fits in to the customer’s overall needs, and how this transaction must be impacting the customer’s day.
Bottom line – you may have reliable products and licensed service providers, but the question customers really care about now is, “What are you like to do business with?”
This article is based on the bestselling book, Becoming a Service Icon in 90 Minutes a Month by customer service strategist and professional speaker Jeff Mowatt. To obtain your own copy of his book or to inquire about engaging Jeff for your team, visit www.jeffmowatt.com or call 1-800-JMowatt (566-9288).
Buying Trends the Shift to HassleFree - To learn more about this author, visit Jeff Mowatt's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
You may have noticed a shift in recent years in what it takes to satisfy customers. Customers are now making buying decisions less on the quality of an organization’s products and services, and more on the quality of the buying experience itself. If you’re a business owner or manager, this trend offers both risk and opportunity. To ensure that your organization profits from this shift in customer loyalty, consider a recent history of buying behaviors…
Why quality is no longer top-of-mind
When it came to satisfying customers in the era immediately following World War II, no one could beat the USA. With the development of the atomic bomb they had demonstrated that they had the most advanced technology on the planet. The fact that they had developed such a terrifyingly sophisticated product gave American businesses an unrivalled reputation for innovation. That reputation resulted in a ‘honeymoon’ demand for US products that exploded throughout the 1950’s.
Fast forward to the energy crises of the 1970’s. People begin turning to smaller more fuel efficient vehicles made overseas. At first the vehicles are perceived to be of poorer quality. Yet in Japan in particular they embrace the concept of Kaizen - the practice of continuous improvement that had been introduced to them, ironically, by an American, W. Edwards Deming. Eventually, the quality of foreign vehicles and other consumer products - particularly electronic equipment, is perceived by consumers to be better that the stuff produced in North America. Domestic manufacturers are forced to improve quality. So, throughout the 1980’s and early 1990’s North American manufacturers join the movement towards “Total Quality”.
It works. Quality improves significantly. So much so, that now in the twenty first century, it’s not that consumers no longer care about the quality of manufactured products – it’s that quality is now taken for granted. So much for products. Interestingly, the same assumption about quality also applies to services. Consider the following…
Why credentials don’t stand out
When it comes to hiring services, consumers now simply take it as a given that the person is ‘qualified’ to be providing the service. When we call a company to send a plumber we don’t ask to screen candidates. We figure the person must have some sort of a ‘ticket’ or the company wouldn’t be hiring them. The teacher who instructs our children is assumed to have the proper certification. In other words, the technical capabilities of the person providing the service is generally taken for granted.
Where we’ve ended up then, is a point where consumers now assume that when they buy a product from any large well-know manufacturer the product quality will be just fine. Or, if they use a service from any reasonably sized firm the service person will be technically competent. In other words, quality itself no longer impresses consumers as much as it used to. Meanwhile, there is something more important that consumers are clamoring for.
What customers will now pay a premium for
Consumers want to be appreciated. They want respect. They want it badly because in recent years they’ve lost so much of it. They’ve gotten fed up with phoning a large company and being told to, “Press 1 for… press 6 for …” (One of my seminar participants described this as being caught in “voice-mail-jail”). They’re tired of return policies that force them to find the original packaging and paperwork, spend time and postage, waiting and hoping.
To create loyal customers, business owners and managers need to recognize that your quality alone won’t impress people that much. As we pointed out, quality is now assumed. Instead, there’s a huge opportunity to create loyalty when, in addition to solving the customer’s obvious immediate problem, you go the extra step to make the buying experience more humane. That means a hassle-free buying experience, and competent service professionals that understand how their product or service fits into the buying context of the customer. By context I mean how this purchase fits in to the customer’s overall needs, and how this transaction must be impacting the customer’s day.
Bottom line – you may have reliable products and licensed service providers, but the question customers really care about now is, “What are you like to do business with?”
This article is based on the bestselling book, Becoming a Service Icon in 90 Minutes a Month by customer service strategist and professional speaker Jeff Mowatt. To obtain your own copy of his book or to inquire about engaging Jeff for your team, visit www.jeffmowatt.com or call 1-800-JMowatt (566-9288).
Buying Trends the Shift to HassleFree - To learn more about this author, visit Jeff Mowatt's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Jeff's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 Aromatic Networking EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES LIABILITY Trainning Template Top Author Mistakes Leadership Audit For Business |
|
 | ||
 |
Write The PR
Press Release Builder | |
 |
Guide To ERP Software
Business Management Software | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
| ||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||