How exceptional organisations react to changing customer needs

I get a sense that things are different.

It’s been a tricky couple of years for us all.

Have the last few years created a desire to get different results or outcomes in your life and possibly for your business?

I’m hearing lots of stories about people reassessing their priorities in life. Perhaps you’re making that dream move to the country, going back into education to retrain, or you’ve decided it’s time to chase your ideal role. It seems to me that many people, myself included, have a desire to achieve different results in life.

Why are we reassessing what’s important?

We’ve all experienced having time on our hands and found ourselves using this time differently. People who were feeling overwhelmed at work have discovered more efficient and effective ways of working - and many have found they are happier and more productive working this way.  

I’ve heard people say, ‘When I was commuting, leaving early and arriving home late, I didn’t get to see my family, spend quality time taking the dog for a walk or go for a mid-afternoon run.’

People have seen the possibilities of spending their time differently and many are choosing to make it a permanent choice.   

Changing work habits a challenge for recruitment

The knock-on impact of changing personal priorities on businesses is for recruitment. Of course, the economic impacts of the pandemic have their own role to play here, but many clients have expressed how difficult it is to recruit people. Job seekers are looking for part-time or flexible working. Team members are asking for compressed hours or reduced hours to spend more time at home. Managing such requests is a challenge, but not necessarily bad news.

On balance, organisations are seeing business results that lead them to think differently about their desired outcomes.  

Just the other day, a client explained to me that, due to reduced staffing levels, their competitors have decided to reduce volume and increase rates per unit to meet overall revenue targets.  

I can see, in the future, they will increase volume and maintain the rate to move targets forward. They will have the hunger to increase staffing levels and retain the high rates. It’s not entirely unexpected. Organisations have experienced huge losses in revenue over the last couple of years. It’s natural to try and recoup some of this.

Shifting customer expectations

Customer expectations have changed too. What we want right now is to feel safe and secure when we are making a purchase or interacting with a business. The scale or size of interaction doesn’t matter. We just want to feel good about our experiences.

When organisations do not treat their customers with respect and consideration, customers simply vote with their feet. I’ve seen this happen so many times.   

The fact is, things have changed. Let’s not assume that we know what people want and need. Let’s find out what they need...

Find out what your customers want and need

A good starting point to assess your customers’ changing priorities is to consider the following questions:

• Are you clear about what you are striving to achieve?

• Are you clear what your team are striving for and how this can complement your goals?  

• Are you clear what your customer wants as their ideal outcome?

• Do any of the above want different results? If so, what are they?

This information will help you to understand what needs to be done. It’s always much easier to deal with facts than assumptions.

If I were to answer the questions for Zest for Life, my desire is to make an even bigger impact on organisations to build their reputation positively from a customer and team perspective. My customers want to invest in their people and equip them with the skills, knowledge and practical experience to get different results. I want to achieve all of this whilst maintaining good health and balance in my life, so I can give and be at my best for myself and other people in my life family, friends, and our dog.

Now we know what our customers want, what’s next?

The next step is to involve your team in making any changes - and I’ll address that in my next post, so keep your eye on this website and our social feeds.

Things are different. We’ve all had to adapt over the last two years and needs have changed. Organisations that are alert, and adapt well, to changing needs are in the best possible place to succeed.

If you haven’t already started to consider what’s different in your organisation and plan to make appropriate changes, perhaps it’s time to begin.