by Rachael Jansen
When you see Coca-Cola Amatil advertising about consuming less sugar, you know times are changing.
In half-page ads taken out in major Australian newspapers, the softdrink giant declared it was listening to customers and their desire to reduce sugar intake, and was taking action to meet that desire.
It’s not a new fight for them – the anti-sugar sentiment particularly in Australia has been an issue they’ve been forced to consider for some time, and one which they’ve attempted to meet through the introduction of new low and no-sugar products.
Now though they’re promising a 10 per cent reduction in the sugar content of all products sold in Australia and New Zealand, including altering the formulas of the ‘original’ products without re-branding them, which is quite extraordinary – they’re tinkering with the recipes of some of the world’s most recognised and most purchased products.
It demonstrates a further shift along the consumer-led decision-making line and one which all organisations and companies should be talking about and taking seriously.
Customers are (still) always right
Making changes based on customer demand isn’t new – in business you continually look to adapt to the customer or client based on feedback and figures. Take a trip to Bali and one minute the street vendor is touting CDs and trinkets, only for a a monsoonal downpour to hit and have him quickly disappear and return 10 seconds later with umbrellas for sale. You find what customers need and want and meet a demand.
What is new however is the ferocity and volume of consumer opinion and the speed with which it is dictating change.
Consumers are no longer a passive target at which you pitch an advertisement or service offering. You don’t decide what’s best for them anymore.
Now, they’re the ones in the driver’s seat and you need to ask them directions if you want to go along for the ride with them.
So what has caused the power shift from the C-Suite to the lounge suite? Digital disruption – and in-particular three major elements of change facilitated from that disruption:
- Chinese whispers on steroids – reviews, recommendations and what others think of you is transmitted globally within seconds and consumers use what they find online to decide what they think of your company and to base purchasing decisions.
- Informed and educated – people now know what they want, even if it doesn’t exist yet. Hence companies coming up with solutions to meet that unmet demand.
- It has to mean something – they make values-driven choices, from education and investing to cosmetics and food. They will choose companies that are in alignment with their ideals.
The information age has changed what purchasing power once looked like. Whereas it was once simply about how much money they had to spend, now it’s about opinions and values and who can meet them, and taking purchasing cues from like-minded people who have shared their experiences.
With the tap of a button or icon, consumers research before they buy and they’re likely to follow the advice of an influencer, connection or friend. In Facebook groups where people of similar interests gather, ideas and recommendations are canvassed on everything from natural toiletries and child-friendly cafes, to software and tech services, to the best mobile phone deals.
They look at comments and online reviews, and with the greater access to information, each generation becomes more widely educated and asks more questions.
They’re more informed and more empowered because of it.
The Silent generation – the parents of the Baby Boomers – lived through more austere times with fewer choices and limited access to information and research. As such, they were far more likely to trust authority figures and advice.
Now, customers are more likely to turn up armed with the latest research and comparisons, and question what they’re told. They ask about alternatives and actively seek them out.
Values are valuable
Digital disruption and the information age has changed not only the way people shop, but also the values behind purchasing decisions and the way those decisions are made.
The shift by Coca-Cola Amital to address the sweet elephant in the room is indicative of a wider trend facing all companies – people’s growing desires for sustainable, ethical or healthier choices.
Take a walk down the aisles at Woolworths and you’ll see plenty of mainstream evidence of companies trying to meet the demand of the ‘green’ trend. The store’s own line of Macro organic products is now prolific, in the healthfood aisle you’ll find kombucha, maca powder and hemp seeds, and at the beginning of the year, the supermarket chain unveiled a new concept store aimed at delivering more fresh food options but also with more sustainable and environmentally-friendly practices from the lighting to less packaging.
Global giant Unilever conducted it’s own research into consumers, with a study canvassing 20,000 of them in five countries and found a third of them based purchasing decisions on social and environmental impact.
With hundreds of brands under their umbrella, including Dove and Ben & Jerry’s, Unilever says the brands that had integrated sustainability into their purpose and products had delivered nearly half of the company’s global growth in 2015.
The shift has all been driven by widespread dissemination of information, where people can find communities that align with their beliefs, and buy accordingly, whether it be a product from the supermarket, or investment portfolio, car, or service provider.
What does it mean for boards?
In the 2017 report The Age of the Customer, produced by The Australian Financial Review and KPMG, the point was made that although the customer was now in control, the people who have the most feedback and information on the those customers and the customer experience – the chief marketing or customer relations officers – typically don’t have a seat at the boardroom or executive table.
The report says that while marketers understand how deep we are in a customer-led economy, many Australian companies didn’t, and that chief marketing officers have a much bigger role to play when it comes to decision-making and strategic planning.
For boards and executive teams to make the best decisions for the future, they have to know who the customer is, what motivates and inspires them, what they think and what they believe in, what they’re expectations are and what’s important to them. How do they spend their time, what is their life like and what are their goals and ambitions? And for those who have already done business with you, what do they think of the experience and what would make it better for them?
This is the kind of information that can drive effective marketing plans, content strategy, customer experience and delivery, and product and service development – you can apply laser focus to what matters most to your customer or membership base.
Without that kind of analysis and strategy, you’re driving blind on a winding, high-speed highway. Regular updates and reporting of market trends, influences and customer or client feedback will however give you a map for better navigation.
Author
Rachael is a reputation strategist who draws on her extensive experience as a journalist to help her clients formulate fresh strategic ideas and identify key issues in what is fast becoming a data-complex decision-making environment.
She facilitates digital and stakeholder engagement workshops to help teams think outside the office-box.