It’s normal now for people to demand more for their money. By definition, a customer’s expectations can be any set of behaviours or actions that they anticipate – and these expectations are growing. Historically, all that’s been expected has been the basic quality service and fair pricing. However, this has changed substantially over the years – and customers are prepared to air their views on social media if they’re not happy.
In order to meet the expectations of customers, companies now provide additional services and gadgets with their products and also set customer interaction as a priority in order to meet expectations. Customer interaction and personalisation is becoming more important, both in store and online. Research has found that 84% of customers say the key factor in winning their custom is by being treated as a person, not a number. Doing this leads to more business down the line, with 57% stating they stopped buying from a company because they received better service elsewhere. This shows that it’s more important than ever to focus on your customer’s needs.
Below, we look at new demands from people across several industries and the lengths businesses are going to meet this demand.
Cars and motor vehicles
As well as its value and connected car experiences, consumers now prioritise the efficiency of their model rather than cars just being used as a symbol status. Added extras have often been the bane of a car buyer’s life, with the final price being a lot more than first anticipated. If you want top of the range technology, you have to pay a lot of money to get your wish. However, some companies are starting to buck that trend.
The new Vauxhall Corsa in their most recent advert proves exactly this. The advertisement for the Corsa Griffin model is a short skit shows potential buyers asking about add-ons and if they came with the deal, only for the question to be laughed at. This humorous ad shows both sides of the coin – customers wanting more, and car salespersons offering less. However, the idea of the advert is to point out that, in fact, the Corsa Griffin is breaking the mould and giving the customers what they want – a higher spec model for the same price.
Another company noticing the benefits of offering customers more is Mercedes. They have encouraged owners of older models to convert their vehicle for free. The Marketing Director of Mercedes-Benz Cars UK, Rob Halloway, said: “Connected tech isn’t just something that’s coming, it’s something that can be fitted to your faithful and favourite old E-Class now. Our MercedesMe adaptor plugs into a car and opens up with the world of connected cars. It can tell you the mileage, fuel consumption, parked location, your last route.”
Customers are more likely to return to your services if you use tools like this that help keep them happy.
Clothing and fashion
For the retail industry, buy-one-get-one-free deals are a great way to make sales. However, while this has often drawn customers in, the public now expect to find better deals and cheaper prices if they take their business online. Companies like Getthelabel.com have tapped into this market superbly. By offering designer clothes at significantly reduced rates, they are targeting the 51% of us who prefer to do our shopping online.
A third of us now expect a ‘suggested products’ option online since its suggested only 13% of Brits actually know what they want to buy. This is crucial information for companies to supply as it can lead to impulsive sales. In fact, two in five admitted that they’d be more likely to buy a product online than in-store because of this option.
Tourism, travels, and hospitality
Bloggers and reviewers are extensive in the travel industry. Sites such as TripAdvisor are a free and easy platform for members of the public to air their views. Research has found that 95% of hotel visitors read online feedback and base their booking decisions on this. It’s key to remember that such platforms, while they can be vital free publicity, they can also be brand damaging. Because of this, it’s crucial that you provide the ‘perfect’ package. So, what do customers expect?
At a minimum, travellers expect a clean place, a good location, great view and complimentary toilets. However, this has been the case for many years now. Recently, though, the customer has been expecting more perks. These include free Wi-Fi, mobile check in and out to beat the queues, free use of the spa and gym facilities, and even eco-friendly practices such as renewable energy sources.
In the business world, offering a chauffeur to and from your location is becoming an expectation. Offering such a service could be the difference in a customer returning to your hotel.
Amusement and leisure
In previous years wanting to binge watch a TV series would acquire forking out a small fortune for a Box set. While collectors may still be buying this way, for many it has fallen by the wayside. This is because of services such as Netflix. Nowadays, viewers expect to pay as little as £5.99 for an abundance of programmes – and sometimes even complain if they aren’t available!
Up until recent years Netflix wasn’t popular despite being founded in 1997. As of January 2019, there were over 139 million paid subscriptions to the service. Catch-up services are also available within your mainstream entertainment package and thanks to technology, you can now record programmes and pause your TV.
It’s clear that our expectations when demanding products and services are increasing, especially when we know we have to part with our money. With technology continuing to advance at a rapid rate, it’ll be interesting to see if new developments bring more demands from shoppers but for a cheaper price. A business trying this themselves is Vauxhall with their new Vauxhall Corsa.
