My previous blog identifies three trends driving the future face of consumers: Older, Female, Urban – It is important that business leaders understand the impact of these three disruptive forces. We have identified three critical steps to serving the needs of these segments:
- It’s not about age: Pay special attention to baby boomers as they enter retirement (don’t neglect them for younger generations), and importantly don’t approach them or talk to them as retirees. Adapt your marketing messages – promise health, vitality and youthfulness. Provide them with great experiences and don’t forget the importantce of the human touch. Product features and services should take into account consequences of ageing without overtly drawing attention to them.
- Undertake robust research to understand the Future World of Women: Identify the sub-segments that your company can target. What are their new dissatisfactions and unmet needs. Find ways to help women save time and gain access to more money. Convenience, variety, ease of use and tailored products are important considerations.
- Develop a comprehensive understanding of the urban consumer.Cities are becoming bigger and more crowded. They asre also becoming smarter. A substantial number of new opportunities are developing as the center of gravity of the urban world moves south and, even more decisively, east. It’s not always the biggest cities where the greatest opportunities exist. The Mckinsey Global Institute (MGI) believes that the best opportunities exist in what they call middleweight cities
“MGI identifies 407 emerging middleweight cities contributing nearly 40 percent of global growth, more than the entire developed world and emerging-markets megacities combined”
Sometimes the opportunities are not always in the most obvious places. Resaerching and understanding the changing nature of cities is becoming more important than deciding which countries to operate in. From an urban consumer perspective tap into emotional benefits—such as security, privacy, and city pride. And, do not underestimate consumers’ willingness to spend on offerings that address these needs.