No longer do we want to hear the stories of how your business can help me.  We want to receive a message that addresses an immediate need I have as a consumer.  I don’t want to try and remember you when I have a need for the products and services that your organization offers.  I want you to be in front of me when that need arises in my life.  I don’t want to read about you.  I want you to give me a video on YouTube that I can watch and learn what I need to know (interesting side note…YouTube is now the second largest search engine based on usage).  In short, I want you Mr. / Mrs. Business Owner…to predict when I will need you, and be there.  I want you to cut through the B.S. and show me what I need when I need it.

What a huge challenge that becomes.  How do you know when your customers will need you and how do you make sure you are in front of them when they do…also, while controlling advertising spending.  Clearly, if we all had endless budgets we can make this happen.  But as business owners have tightened their belts and their budgets over the last few years, garnering that return on investment has become more difficult day in and day out.

I could write all day.  There are a million answers I can come up with.  But, the short answer…we have to know our customers.  We have to get back to a society where we know Mrs. Jones comes in to purchase her dog’s favorite treats approximately every three months.  We have to know what those treats are…and we have to make sure that Mrs. Jones remembers this is the best place to buy those treats for her precious Pickles.  We need to make sure that certain things never change.

Let’s be honest…we all hate change.  That’s why New Year’s resolutions never last and we fall right back into the same habits we’ve always had.  Change is scary…who wants to rock the boat?  The change is not going to come from consumers…it’s going to come from business owners.  We have to change the way we do business to make sure we can maximize our efforts.  We have to make sure that every customer is over the top excited about doing business with us, and will recommend our products / services on the social media pages, read by hundreds of their friends.  Even if you assume Mrs. Jones has 200 friends on Facebook, and she recommends your business.  Let’s say 1% has the same immediate need Mrs. Jones has.  That’s two new customer opportunities right now.  Two new customers clearly doesn’t sound like much, but the cycle can grow from there.

Long story short, don’t resist change.  We need change.  We have to continue to evolve to compete in today’s marketplace.  If we don’t….where will we end up?