Exponential changes, how does your average consumer in 2022 look compared to 20 years ago
There is no doubt that a lot has changed over the past 20 years for consumers, it has also been accelerated in the past 2 years, due to the change in our work life balance. This topic was covered in our recent blog where we discussed the importance of a work-life balance, and how Covid-19 stone a light on this important issue. We purchase goods, consume products or services and communicate with each other with more efficiently now. This means demands and expectations have changed, and businesses have been required to become more flexible than ever, mainly with their opening times or out of hours duties. Around the clock services 7 days a week has also become the new norm, and you can suffer if you aren’t offering this to your consumers. The likelihood of your competitors offering this ‘expected’ service is increasing, which in turn could see you lose customers.
The Modern-Day Consumer
Where would we be without online shopping, self-service, contactless and online banking? These initiatives have become invaluable, however, have they caused other areas to suffer? The decline in physical stores and the rise of Amazon. Equally, the modern-day consumer is becoming accustom to automated services and speaking less often with real people. As online shopping dominates, and physical stores slowly disappear.
Already touched upon, the needs and expectations for consumers has changed and will continue to change; at a rapid rate with the introduction of new technologies; Amazon Fresh stores are shaking up the once stable supermarket sector, once only dominated by four brands. They will consist of no self-service check-outs, nor any manned check-outs. How is this possible? Everything is automatically added to your digital Amazon Account basket when you take a product off the shelf. This completely changes the supermarket game with innovation, creating new consumer habits / expectations. Will or can other supermarkets keep up?
Additionally, Tesla’s introduction of electric cars has sparked a new shift in the car industry that was unexpected. The modern-day consumer is more than ever susceptible to change, which only induces more change, you can see how this can create a snowball effect.
Around the clock services, do you remember the introduction of the first 24/7 Tesco? Following the deregulation of UK Store opening hours in the UK in 1987, it saw Tesco take their first steps to taking advantage of this with the first 24/7 supermarket opening in 1999. The increasing change in consumer demands also dictates how businesses must meet the consumers’ needs and new expectations. Could you live without a 24/7 supermarket near you? Competition soon stepped up as most competitors jumped to offer this service too or would fail to miss out on a large proportion of the market.
The demand for your business to have a website is higher than ever but it must be sophisticated, functioning and have effortless UI. The power of e-commerce has seen a sharp rise in fashion brands and the decline of high street stores, as fast fashion becomes more prevalent than ever. Despite the growing concerns with its sustainability on the environment. There is the common theme that stores are becoming fulfilment centres rather than traditional shopping centres. An index has shown that 37% of consumers in the UK will purchase online and pick up in store, this is expected to continue more.
Consumers have complaints, problems and reviews to leave, no matter which industry you are in. Call handling services can help alleviate these pressures and give your business freedom to switch off for the day. But there are big question marks left over whether they can be better than you, right? Wrong. AllCall are bespoke out of hours call handling service based in the UK, with real people that answer your phone as a seamless extension of your team.
Changes In Consumer Demand For Out of Hours Services
As stated already, the modern-day consumer can be challenging to say the least. Channels of communication have increased, which in-turn makes your leads complex to understand. Consumers demand fast and responsive automation services, that’ll quickly get them speaking to a real person. Many companies use a live chat feature but can lack a personal touch and feel never ending. This is a simple solution to out of hours as employing an internal team can be costly and hard to manage.
Consumers could be from different time zones, or equally some industries have different ‘normal’ operating hours. One example of this is the property industry, as tenants require attention at all hours. This can be because of leaks, lockouts or general maintenance issues. AllCall has vast experience in this industry and we help major property management companies, are you our next client?
There is a plethora of benefits to using AllCall, much of which you can find out about on our website, our sectors, about us and why not contact us for a chat – get the answers you want quickly.
Expectations
So, we’ve established that expectations change but how do we keep up with them? Do we? Or do we just put ourselves in the best position to be ready for them. Unlimited flexibility is what gives your business freedom over time, because you are now able to meet the needs of customers whenever they a change over time. This is possible if you have an out-office call handling service, this is where AllCall steps in and takes over the reins for you. Check out “how it works” on our website, this step by step guide shows how we do things and can give you an in-depth overview into why we do what we do. Having a dedicated out of hours call handling team based in the UK is great for customer service, we can put action to their requests on your behalf and even have quality leads waiting for you when you come back to the office. We deal with all matter of enquiries on your behalf, always offering a high level of customer service.
How We Meet These Expectations
We pride ourselves on becoming a seamless extension of your company, so when you work with us, we will ensure that your customers never know the difference between your team and ours.
The best way to find out about our services is to book in to have a chat. Our team can walk you through setting everything up and give you all the details you might need.
Consumers can be difficult to understand, also being available out of normal working hours can be demanding on your company’s operations. Naturally, not making it a priority can cause you to experience poor customer reviews and the loss of potential customers, as your competition is most likely offering this already. Failure to listen to your customers could see you lose them further down the line. Give in to the modern-day consumer demands and it will in-turn progress your company to another level.