We’ve all experienced changes in the consumer buying process from pre-COVID to now. Everything from more online purchasing and less in-store, to supply chain and labor shortages.
But we’re now faced with a consumer value vs. values paradox that has led to a disconnect between what companies think consumers want and what consumers say they want. A tug of war over a tar pit for most companies.
A July 2022 Accenture global study states, “consumers are allowing themselves to be inconsistent as they reconcile personal values with practical realities. But as increasingly self-reliant and self-empowered consumers embrace complexity, businesses are still seeing them as one-dimensional walking wallets.”
72% of consumers say that external factors (i.e. inflation, social movements and climate change) are impacting their lives more than in the past.
60% say their priorities keep changing as a result. Hence the paradox between values and value at the cash register.
All at a time when consumer choice has never been higher and the cost of switching brands has never been lower.
Therefore, the study recommends shifting from being customer centric to being life centric. To see the customer in their full life, solve for shifting scenarios at every point of contact and simplify for relevance.
A tall order. But remember, changing brands has never been easier or cheaper. So make lives and paradoxical decisions easier and become a valuable difference maker.
Demand that your advertising and communication do likewise and leave your competition peering into the tar pit.
More on that to come