“Anyone who has worked in a large corporation will tell you that people rarely surrender something voluntarily, and many are not especially keen on surrendering control to the customer either,” Matt Watkinson.
I grew up in a backwater village called Ntwane in Limpopo, far away from all the bustle of city life. And whenever my grandmother needed something, she would normally send me to one of the nearest shops, or a general dealer as spaza shops were then called. Most general dealers didn’t allow customers to browse through their groceries as it is done today in supermarkets. You had to stand behind the counter and tell the shop owner the item you needed, he would then disappear to pick it up for you. Occasionally when he brought a wrong item you would correct him: “Sir, but I said baked bins not spaghetti! Or brown or not white bread,” Then he would grudgingly go back to pick up the right item for you. As a customer you were not given the freedom of feeling how fresh the vegetables or fruits are. And I hated it. That’s why today I hardly buy anything from a spaza shop. As a customer I want to be in control. But do I still have that control in 2020?
What do customers want?
As customers we all want to do things in our own ways and in our own time. Most of us don’t enjoy jumping through the hoops to purchase the kind of product that we want. We appreciate services that are flexible, products that are easy to use, but most of all experiences that leave us feeling in control.
The break out of the COVID-19 pandemic has left many of us feeling oppressed by the many regulations enacted by the governments to protect us. We are no longer as in control as we would like to be. We can no longer buy alcohol, sit down for a meal at our favourite restaurant or even go to church. And going to buy groceries is like a war zone. We venture out wearing masks and armed with sanitisers just like soldiers with guns, ready to annihilate this insidious virus before it can kill us. We spend less time comparing prices because we don’t want to be the next infected victim. We are no longer in control.
All supermarkets (including those in the townships) have introduced precautionary measures of their own, like limiting the number of customers allowed inside the store at one time, putting up markers that keep people properly spaced in line, or installing panels between customers and cashiers at checkout. But still as customers we no longer feel safe or in control.
Experts say it may be time for some grocery stores to ban customers from coming inside. CNN reports that dozens of grocery store workers in the US have died from the coronavirus, despite masks, temperature checks and capacity restrictions to keep them safe. While not allowing customers to come inside the store will reduce the number of retail workers getting infected on duty, it doesn’t seem to consider the customer.
Analysts expect retail sales growth to come under pressure over the coming months as businesses respond to government measures to contain the spread of. Although Stats SA data shows that retail trade sales increased by 1.2% year-on-year in 2020.
What does putting customers in control really mean?
In recent years, technology has enabled a shift when it comes to the customer experience, and the customer should be in control even in the midst of the coronavirus.
According to Hubspot, putting customers in control means providing them with greater control over their purchasing decisions, allowing them to experience their buying behaviour as self-determined and internally motivated.
How can your customers still be in control during these tough times?
1. Fine tune your product or services offering
You can’t finetune your product or services offering without conducting a market research. First, gather some information about consumers’ needs and preferences. Some of the ways you can do this include:
Surveys and questionnaires
- Informal discussions
- Online Focus Groups
- Anonymous feedback (via email or your website)
- Social media
Then assess the competition, find out what your competitors’ brand messages are. What niche/s are they not targeting that you could serve? Also, how potentially profitable is the opportunity they’re not pursuing.
2. Customise your offerings
Let’s start by addressing this question: What is the difference between customisation and personalisation? Customisation is best defined as blank products/services that are designed or created by the customer. According to Wikipedia, the word “customisation” is a neologism, defined as the combination of operational customisation and marketing customisation. The benefits of customisation include, allowing businesses to build customer loyalty, make products more attractive and outdo your competitors.
While most people confuse personalisation and customisation the two words are not interchangeable. Personalisation is centred around the idea of tailoring a user’s experience for them. It should be introduced in website copy, eBooks, webinars, emails, social media posts, interactive content and beyond.
3. Allow prospects to find you easily online
As I have mentioned above, potential customers hate it when it becomes a hassle for them to find your products or services online. A recent research from Salesforce and Publicis.Sapient has found that 87% of shoppers now begin their product searches in digital channels, up from 71% in 2017.
But you’ve got to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology, as Steve Jobs once notably stated. “You cannot start with the technology and try to figure out where you are going to sell it,” he said.
Lastly, the times we find ourselves living in are fraught with uncertainty. No one knows when this crisis will come to an end, and how many businesses are going to disappear. Therefore Improving your customer experience has become essential than ever before. Companies that are honest and transparent are more likely to retain their customers than those choosing to shroud things in the darkness. Communicate with your customers all the time.
The following tried and tested methods will help you to communicate with new and existing customers online: Blogging, podcasting, video marketing, social media marketing, targeted local advertising, email marketing and lead generation. If you need help with any of the above mentioned methods simply email
