One of the more dramatic shifts in the past 5-10 years has been the importance placed on understanding customer behavior, rather than simple demographics. By understanding customer behavior, businesses can implement effective strategies that change behavior and drive action. Without this behavioral understanding, businesses will continue to wonder why attrition rates are on the rise much faster than acquisition. To improve your retention and acquisition channels, let’s see what we can learn from the following key behavior change movements of 2019.

Social Awareness

Gone are the days where consumers or customers would ignore businesses with less sustainable practices. In 2019, one of the bigger behavior change movements is that consumers are much more socially aware. Increased availability of information afforded by social media and the internet, means consumers are much more picky about where and with whom they choose to spend their money. Tapping into this social conscious driver is about promoting your sustainable practices and initiatives. Help the consumer see that your business is not only responsible but by purchasing from your business, the consumer benefits from your brand equity as well. On the flip side, if your business has any less than sustainable practices, it might be time to reconsider their impact in the long term and see what changes can be made.

Personalization is just the beginning

It’s no secret that customers expect your business to know them. In 2019, expect this movement to go to the next level. Including their name in the email subject line or reminding them when a product goes on sale that they recently purchased isn’t enough anymore. Customers now expect businesses to help them through their decision-making process and to recognize where in that process they are. This means the traditional approach of constantly trying to get the customer to buy may now actually damage your business. Customers expect you to know if they are only in the contemplation stage of their decision, and as such, provide content to help educate them on all choices, not just the one you want them to buy. This new level of understanding and personalization is a big mover in 2019 that all businesses need to focus on.

Experiences vs time

Another big change in behavior that we’ve seen this year is the concept of the perceived value of time. Time is seen as a commodity, now more than ever. If customers are expected to expend time and effort with your business, then the experience offered needs to match the customer’s value of that time. In years gone by, customers were happy to spend time browsing multiple product lines or styles of products. In 2019, a big change has been the emphasis put on saving time and creating a meaningful experience where the customer is able to get what they want, in the time they expect to spend. This movement or change doesn’t mean customers’ churn rate on your website will be the same as their attention span. It means customers will now go into an exchange or visit with a perceived expectation of both the experience they want and the amount of time they are willing to spend. Businesses who are able to realize this time expectation and work towards meeting it will see satisfaction and loyalty improve.

In 2019 customers are demonstrating a number of behavior change movements, including all of those mentioned above. From greater scrutiny over the sustainable practices of the businesses they interact with, to the value and expectation they place around the time spent interacting with your business, customer behavior is evolving. To capitalize on these shifts, it is crucial that your business understands customer behavior and the areas you can improve on.