The customer doesn't really care about your list of trends for 2016!
How many posts and articles have you come across during the last two months dealing with future trends and clever predictions for 2016??
Seriously.
It was a bombardment of lists, whose titles spanned from hopeful wishes ("The 8 trends which will make your business successful in 2016") to cringing threats ("Beware of these 5 driving forces in 2016, or your business will succumb!"). So, at some point, with all the will in the world, one was tempted to read a few; alternatively, one could make the decision of ignoring them at one's own risk. I personally went for a diligent, cautious choice and saved the most eye-catching posts in my Pocket's archive for a Christmas holiday read, which however ended just a week ago (pant! pant!). Yes, I eventually made it through and I can now tell you that the most talked about trends for 2016 in my list were, in order: Virtual Reality, AI, 3D printing, Netflix&Co and the evergreen New Digital Strategies.
I entered into a world of wisdom and pondered. I felt certainly better informed, even if bored with repetition.
Just when I thought I had accomplished my mission, I stumbled into this post whose title invited to "forget the hype" and read about the 3 real trends for the new year and, more interestingly, that the post would NOT have dealt with 3d or VR... That had me immediately, I jumped into it and I was not disappointed!
3 BIG windows of opportunity
I so much enjoyed this post from Tom Goodwin. And I did like it because of the unusual insight of a 3-only-bullet-based list (nowadays quite rare in trends articles), whose content does manage to include a well-articulated opinion on what companies should really worry about thinking forward. It's more than trends; they are distinctive business opportunities:
- IM for business, described as a powerful platform, where all businesses will communicate in mass in the near future.
- Frictionlessness, as in seamless digital applications, platforms or systems through which any action should become easy and fast. Right now.
- Last mover advantage. My favourite: learn from what is working now and aim to the same standards, if not better.
The solution in a nutshell? Immediate action from "enlightened" companies to rebuild new processes (parallel to the current ones) around smart technology and respond to people’s new modern behaviours. Easier said than done; but certainly possible. And it is a clear indication of direction and reflection.
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" - Leonardo da Vinci
Tom Goodwin smartly looked at things from an elevated position and pinpointed three powerful factors, which are not driven by industries only; they are massively influenced and wanted by consumers' behaviours. They are, therefore, sources of competitive advantage. Specifically, customers are now “yelling” for more and more free, safe and easy communication, seamless and authentic customer experience and, generally, easier life (as in less stress) since, yes, it got that much more complicated in most cases! And only a few players are managing to simplify and fulfil these needs in their own industries, as it is so difficult for established companies to get rid of their own baggage, to start over again, or transform what has been built before. That’s why the “last mover advantage” is such a brilliant way to explain not a trend, but a real window of opportunity.
The centrality of the customer, a strategic imperative.
What lies behind the three listed "revolutionary" factors is actually an 'old' concept in marketing, which is now often overlooked in this fast-changing, technology-driven business environment: the centrality of the customer.
In our race to get on top of this amazing global digital movement, which has altered all existing business models, we often forget to check over the main objective of our efforts: add real value to the customer.
If we, business people, systematically asked ourselves who our customers truly are and how their expectations are changing through technology and the birth of brilliant new movers and shakers... if we managed to put ourselves literally in their shoes every time we need to take a strategic decision… if we then looked for a solution (product, service, process) to a clear need through smart technology along the likes of Uber, Amazon prime, etc… then, we would not get so desperately in need of a psychologist when trying to check in on a Turkish airlines flight, arguably "the best customer service airline in Europe". Not. (Bad experience this Christmas).
If we got our customer's view into our managerial state of mind and processes, then all those things, which appear so little when sitting in our executive chair, would instead be perceived as BIG things, real top priorities. And we would do something about them. Immediately. Even in 2016.
It's a little bit like dealing with children's problems.
If one does not kneel when they talk to us, in order to make eye contact as their peer, if one does not empty one's heavy baggage of experience in order to welcome their candid thoughts and to really listen to what they have to say, then the glass of incomprehension will never be broken; their needs and their urgency will never be understood.
And frustration from both sides will just escalate.
Like Turkish Airlines and me.
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I’d love to hear your views. If you like, add a comment, share or contact me directly: raffaella@albachiara.net - www.albachiara.net
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I am an international strategic advisor and marketing executive, hands-on style, at C-suite level, with a passion for simplifying business visions, developing and executing growth plans side by side my clients and business partners. I love creative technology, digital media and content development and I am an open networker.
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- Also read: Four disruptive forces? Disruptive can be good and forces may be seven.
Founder at Albachiara SAGL
8yVery true