Customers that Drive Businesses Forward
In the world of business, especially one that deals with consumerism. Demand and Supply is one of, if not the biggest economical factor. Elementary yes, though it is from this basic theory that we can move forward and grow. Today, lets look at the demand side of things with a slightly different perspective.
Jeff Bezos, the founder and Chief Executive Office of Amazon, wrote a very thoughtful letter to the shareholders of the company highlighting the importance of setting high standards. In the letter Mr. Bezos write, “One thing I love about customers is that they are divinely discontent. Their expectations are never static – they go up. It’s human nature. We didn’t ascend from our hunter-gatherer days by being satisfied. People have a voracious appetite for a better way, and yesterday’s ‘wow’ quickly becomes today’s ‘ordinary’.”
“One thing I love about customers is that they are divinely discontent. Their expectations are never static – they go up. It’s human nature” – Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO Amazon
Of course, this is only a short except from the letter, where the man goes on to outline some very specific points.
The point is that customers are never satisfied. Customers are always looking for the next big thing. Companies invest heavily in R&D of products to keep relevant to today’s every changing landscape known as the consumer market.
Though, we must not forget about the forward movement of Customer Service as well. Previous eras have brought about interesting ways to connect or rather communicate with customers. When the drive in first came about, it was revolutionary. Though, we wouldn’t think twice about of it today. To the consumer at the time it was exciting and new. Not just the concept, but a new way of interacting with customers.
Fun Fact: the first drive-in restaurant was Kirby’s Pig Stand in Dallas, Texas which opened in 1921.
Customer Engagement
Social Media has done the same for us. Companies are able to connect and engage with users and customers on a much more personal level. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are the big three. Thinking back about 10 years ago, this path of engaging with consumers did not exist. YouTube is also increasing in popularity in terms of Creator and Influencer marketing.
Customers these days are more demanding when it comes to customer relations. If a customer were to write a comment on a brand’s Facebook page that was ignored, other customers would see that. This leaves a negative imagine in the eyes of other customers as well.
Measuring Innovation
Okay, back to the point here. As Jeff Bezos wrote, customers are never happy. Though advancement in technology and products are one thing. We also need to constantly think of new ways of engaging customers. It doesn’t stop there, say we think of a method of engaging with customer. We then need to measure the how positive that engagement is, whether the employee engaging with the customer is doing so in the best possible manner and does it meet company or brand standards. Customer Service has changed drastically and is constantly evolving.
As the saying goes “What gets measured gets managed.”
